About this Event
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT IS IN EDINBURGH.
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Botanical spirals are all around us in nature, whether in the head of a sunflower, the bracts of a pinecone or the unfurling fronds of ferns. Given how common they are today we might assume that they have been key features of land plants since their origins over 475 million years ago. To test this hypothesis, we must turn to the plant fossil record.
In this lecture Dr Sandy Hetherington will describe recent research carried out in his lab that aims to determine the origin and early evolution of two of the most iconic spiral forms observed in plants; first spirals that adhere to the famous Fibonacci series and second the tightly coiled croziers or fiddleheads of ferns. In both cases, the scientists use modern imaging approaches to shine new light on historic fossils from the United Kingdom. The work showcases the importance of preserving and researching historic collections and the power of combining studies of living and fossil plants.
Dr Sandy Hetherington is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow in the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He is an evolutionary palaeobiologist who studies the origin and early diversification of land plants. His work combines studies of both fossil and living plants and this interdisciplinary approach has led to him being awarded the 2018 Irene Manton Prize from the Linnean Society and a Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2023.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Anatomy Lecture Theater, Doorway 3, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
