E38 - The hunt for the first-ever animals, with Emily Mitchell

Where, when, and how did the animals first appear? The fossil record holds some tantalising insights from well-preserved sites in Canada, Australia, Russia (and Leicester). This week we are joined by Dr Emily Mitchell of the University of Cambridge to discuss how to find these fascinating Ediacaran fossils, what they mean, and how they evolved. Did they move? Were they left-handed? Did they have sex? Where are they hiding? This is a story that includes lasers, school children, lichens, and bees.  

The papers discussed this week are "Earliest evidence of behavioural handedness in the Ediacaran motile bilaterian Sp...