The end-Cretaceous mass extinction was a cataclysmic asteroid impact that ushered in the end of the non-avian dinosaurs and forever changed the course of evolution on Earth. But what can we say about the timing of the event, other than it happened 66 million years ago?

Well, it turns out that Tanis, a relatively-recently discovered fossil site in North Dakota, is full of lines of evidence that are allowing earth scientists to piece together when the impact occurred.

In this episode, we’re joined by Melanie During, Uppsala University, who has been examining the details of the bones of fish to say more about the world either side of the event.

Continuing our mini series on Burmese Amber, we now turn our focus to the ethics of working on this fossil material. Can possessing or working on amber from Myanmar ever be considered ethical?

In the first part of this episode, we examined the political context, work around Myanmar’s fossil exportation laws and follow the money back through the trade routes. Now, in the second part, we discuss why it’s currently unethical to study Burmese amber, what palaeontologists can do about that, and whether the situation might change in the future.

Joining us to guide us through this process are Nussaïbah Raja (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Dr Emma Dunne (University of Birmingham).

Continuing our mini series on Burmese Amber, we now turn our focus to the ethics of working on this fossil material. Can possessing or working on amber from Myanmar ever be considered ethical?

In the first part of this episode, we examine the political context, work around Myanmar’s fossil exportation laws and follow the money back through the trade routes. In the second part (released in two weeks), we’ll be discussing why it’s currently unethical to study Burmese amber, what palaeontologists can do about that, and whether the situation might change in the future.

Joining us to guide us through this process are Nussaïbah Raja (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Dr Emma Dunne (University of Birmingham), authors of a soon-to-be-released study looking at exactly these issues.