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Event Details

Rocking the cradle of life

19 August 2021
6.30pm – 7.30pm AEST
Online
This event has ended
photo of rocks along a beach


The greatest genealogy search of them all.

Join  Brendan Burns to hear about how his astrobiology group at UNSW is studying the origin of complex life using the stromatolites, ‘living rocks’, of Shark Bay in Western Australia as a model environment. Discover how the field of astrobiology has relevance for our search for life elsewhere, including one of nearest neighbours, Mars.

Associate Professor Brendan Burns leads a research group at UNSW considered one of the best in the world in the study of living microbial mats and stromatolites. These ecosystems are excellent natural laboratories, teeming with microbial life that may have helped shape the biology of the early Earth. The key to understanding the past is to study the present, and his research team are addressing important evolutionary questions, as well as assessing the impact of climate change on these vulnerable ecosystems.

Discover more about Brendan Burns' research here.

This event is part of a NSW library series curated by Inspiring Australia NSW for National Science.

Please register to receive the link to the Zoom event. It will be emailed two  hours before the event starts.

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