Please Note: This seminar series has finished. For information on our current seminar series please see our Seminar Series webpage.

Thursdays 2-4pm, 22 January - 12 March 2009. Lecture Theatre, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford. Chaired by Prof. Lynn Margulis, Prof. Martin Brasier and Prof. Kathy Willis.

Week 1: 2pm, Thursday 22 January 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

Life at 4 billion

  • The early solar system. Prof. Alex Halliday, Earth Sciences, Oxford.
  • Brief introduction to evolution of the chemical elements. Prof. Bob Williams, Chemistry, Oxford.
  • The earliest signs of life. Dr Stephen Moorbath, Earth Sciences, Oxford.
  • Open Discussion

Week 2: 2pm, Thursday 29 January 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

From Archaea to Animals

  • The earliest fossils cells. Prof. Martin Brasier, Earth Sciences, Oxford.
  • Volcanic glass and the earliest life. Dr Nicola McLoughlin, University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Earliest animal fossils. Dr Phil Donoghue, Earth Sciences, Bristol, and Jonathan Antcliffe, Earth Sciences, Oxford.
  • Open Discussion

Week 5: 2pm, Thursday 19 February 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

Towards a habitable planet

  • Gaia and the early biosphere. Prof. Tim Lenton, Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.
  • Oxygen and evolution. Dr David Catling, Earth Sciences, Bristol.
  • Animate Earth. Dr Stephan Harding, Schumacher College.
  • Open Discussion

Week 6: 2pm, Thursday 26 February 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

Origins of the Eukaryote cell

  • Origins of the eukaryote cell. Prof. Lynn Margulis, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford.
  • Archaea and the origins of eukaryotes. Prof. Stephen Bell, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford.
  • Open Discussion

Week 7: 2pm, Thursday 5 March 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

Life at 4 billion revisited

  • The early solar system. Prof. Alex Halliday, Earth Sciences, Oxford.
  • Later evolution and the chemical elements. Prof. Bob Williams, Chemistry, Oxford.
  • Open Discussion

Week 8: 2pm, Thursday 12 March 2009, Lecture Theatre, Earth Sciences, Oxford.

Complexity in multicellular lineages

  • On the origin of rooting. Dr Liam Dolan, John Innes Centre.
  • Genes, genomes and animal complexity. Prof. Peter Holland, Zoology, Oxford.
  • In silico ontogenesis and the evolution of complex multicellular life. Dr Eric Werner, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford.
  • Open Discussion