A kelp forest © Katharine Moore/Shutterstock.com
We are experiencing unprecedented global environmental change.
From the origins of the solar system to the evolution of new species, our work and collections are helping us understand the response of ecosystems to this change.
Discovery, origins and evolution news
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NewsBritain's largest ever ichthyosaur is discovered in Rutland Water
The largest and most complete ichthyosaur ever found in the UK has been unearthed in the nation's smallest county.
10 January 2022 -
NewsVelociraptor relative that ambushed dinosaurs is a new species
The first large raptor to ever be discovered in the UK has been described as a new species.
8 January 2022 -
Science newsVolcano 'recharging' can give clues about its next eruption
The way a volcano is filled with boiling hot magma can help improve forecasts of how it will next erupt.
7 January 2022 -
Science newsDinosaur tracks on Welsh beach are evidence of sauropod gathering
A series of tracks on a public beach point to the presence of large, long-necked dinosaurs in Wales over 200 million years ago.
29 December 2021
Our projects
Discovery
Size matters: responding to environmental change
Predicting the impact of our rapidly changing climate on body size using well-preserved fossils.
Research on reef corals
Studying fossil corals to understand the biological consequences of past environmental changes.
Origins
Asteroids
Studying chondrite meteorites in our collection to learn about conditions in the early solar system and the processes that formed the planets.
Extraterrestrial H20 hunters
Exploring new analytical techniques to determine the origins and history of water on planet Earth.
The Moon
Looking at lunar meteorites and Apollo samples to learn more about the origin and early evolution of the Moon.
The changing Sun
Studying data from ground and satellite-based instruments to better understand current solar activity.
Evolution
The role of behaviour in evolution
Interrogating how species behaviour has the potential to lead morphological evolution.
Morphological development and evolution of bony fishes
Studying the morphological development of bony fishes and how it has changed over evolutionary time.
Evolution of the snake visual system
Asking what the biology of snake vision can tell us about snake evolution and the evolution of vertebrate visual systems.
Co-evolution of plants and soils
Comparing 400-million-year-old fossil soils and modern analogues to learn more about the early evolution of life on land.
All discovery, origins and evolution projects
Origins
- Asteroids
- Atomic-scale phenomena
- Carbonatites from Calatrava
- Comets
- ESA: exploration sample analogue collection and curation facility
- Europlanet
- Mafic and ultramafic rocks in southern Mexico
- Mantle evolution of southern Patagonia
- Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico
- Post-magmatic processes in carbonatitic systems
- Stromboli volcano, Italy
- The changing Sun
- The Hydro-Mars project
- The Moon
- The origins of adakites
Evolution
- African elephants
- Asian elephants
- Body size variation in Quaternary mammals
- Bryozoan endoparasite evolution
- Centipede systematics
- Chironomids as environmental indicators
- Ciliate taxonomy and diversity
- Comparative venomics research
- Conodont research
- Conulariid research
- Convergent evolution of anguilliform elongation
- Copepod colonisation and parasitism
- Cutmarks and carcass decay
- Dinosaur and plant co-evolution
- Dwarfing of fossil mammals on Mediterranean islands
- Echinoderm
- Evolution and development of vertebrate structures
- Evolution and taxonomy of Ice Age deer
- Evolution and taxonomy of Mesozoic bryozoans
- Evolution of the snake visual system
- Exploring the evolution of animals at deep-sea hot springs
- Extinction of large mammals in the Late Quaternary Ice Age
- Mammoth evolution as a model for species origins
- MART analysis
- Mesozoic forests of Britain
- Micropalaeontology research opportunities
- Morphological development and evolution of bony fishes
- Naked snakes of the North Eastern Region of India
- Ostracod research
- Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
- Pathways to Ancient Britain (PAB)
- Phylogenetic comparative methods
- Reading the rocks
- Research using the Museum cetacean collections
- Symbionts
- The role of behaviour in evolution
- Trilobite research
Discovery
- Brazilian mangrove forests
- Bryozoan skeletal mineralogy and ocean acidification
- Co-evolution of plants and soils: a comparative approach
- Eel conservation
- Emerging diseases
- Evolution of fern diversity
- Human impacts on biodiversity
- Report your invasive crab sightings
- Research on reef corals and coral reefs
- Soils
- UK seaweed biodiversity conservation
- Unlocking the vault: UK plant collections
- Bio-strategies
UK biodiversity
Creating molecular and digital tools to explore undiscovered biodiversity.
Anthropocene and sustainability
Exploring new sources of food, predicting the spread of disease and finding scarce elements.