World’s oldest forest fossils
Listen now
Description
The world’s oldest fossilised forest was uncovered in Somerset last week. We head to palaeobotanist, Dr Christopher Berry’s, lab at Cardiff University to learn about these cladoxylopsids. They lived 390 million years ago and although they are not the ancestors of today’s trees, they reveal some extraordinary evolutionary secrets. Also, Marnie speaks to Dr Chris Thorogood of the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens about his new book Pathless Forest: The Quest to Save the World’s Largest Flowers. Called “Rafflesia” plants and found in the remotest parts of South East Asia, their flowers burst from the rain forest floor the size of pumpkins and are critically endangered. Chris talks of his world of extreme fieldwork and hair-raising expeditions, braving leeches, lizards and lethal forest swamps, to discover the rarest of rare blooms. Plus, the Wildlife Trust’s Making Friends with Molluscs campaign starts today, and I’m sure many gardeners will declare this an impossible task! We visit some allotments in Bristol to find out how people are managing slug and snail populations. And chat to Brian Eversham from the Trust of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, who explains why these garden creatures should be considered our friends, not foes. And finally, Dr Stewart Husband from last week’s programme returns to answer more of your burning questions about your tap water.
More Episodes
As another week of disruptive Just Stop Oil protests grabs media attention, sociologist Dana Fisher discusses which actions might help a cause - and which could harm it. Japanese scientists have developed artificial skin for robots made from real human cells. Inside Science producer Dr Ella...
Published 07/25/24
Published 07/25/24
Taylor Swift fans danced so hard they made the ground shake at her recent Edinburgh gig so this week we’re meeting Earth Scientists Emma Greenough and James Panton to measure the Cardiff show - and explain some Swiftie Seismology. We’re joined by the BBC’s disinformation and social media...
Published 07/18/24