Jurassic Brain Teasers
20 January
Monday 20 January 2020 (Indoor Meeting): 'Jurassic Brain Teasers'. Stephan Lautenschlager (Lecturer in Palaeobiology, University of Birmingham). Fossils represent physical evidence for the existence of extinct organisms and have vast potential for the study of ancient life. However, the majority of fossils are preserved in the form of hard-tissues (e.g. bones and teeth), while soft-tissues, such as muscles and internal organs, have withered away. Using modern computer technology and digital visualisation techniques, it is now possible to reconstruct some of these soft-tissues in fossils. The anatomy of the brain is of particular interest, as it can reveal information about extinct animals' behaviours and how they might have sensed the environment around them.