5 Jun 2024

Science: Tiny fern - big genome, Saudi stromatolites, giraffe necks

From Nine To Noon, 11:45 am on 5 June 2024
Giraffe in Auckland zoo, 5 Nov 2023

Photo: Ziming Li

Science commentator Allan Blackman joins Kathryn to talk about the New Caledonian fork fern which now holds the record for the largest amount of DNA stored in its nucleus of any living organism on the planet.

He'll also look at the stromatolites found in Saudi Arabia that are believed to be the earliest geological record of life on Earth.

And it turns out the evolution of the length of giraffe's neck was driven by food, not sex.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology.