Science Week lecture at the County Museum in Dundalk
Lecture by one of the world’s leading experts on DNA analysis, Professor Dan Bradley
As part of this year’s Science Week activities the County Museum, Dundalk has organized a lecture by one of the world’s leading experts on DNA analysis, Professor Dan Bradley for Monday November 18th at 8.00 p.m. at the Jocelyn Street venue.
Entitled ‘Genes from old bones. Ancient DNA and the Irish past’, the lecture will focus on the analysis of ancient Irish humans and what this reveals about previous generations.
Professor Bradley is a pioneer in this area of research. He said that “The first human genome took ten years and 200 hundred million dollars to sequence. Technology now enables a genome to be sequenced for only 100 Dollars in a few days.
"This facilitated the exploration of the genes of people who lived in Ireland thousands of years ago, telling us new things about past disease, migrations, origins and society. There have been surprises: when it comes to ancient genomics, the past was indeed a different country. “
According to Curator, Brian Walsh, “we’re so lucky to have Professor Bradley to give this lecture for us. He and his team of researchers pioneered cattle genome and DNA analysis in the 1990s which gave us a greater understanding of the nature of the development of agriculture and how earlier societies settled and evolved.
"After this he demonstrated the genetic differences between the Irish and the English, drawing parallels with societies as diverse as the Incan Empire and ancient Egypt.”
Admission to the event is free but prior booking is advised. Tea and coffee refreshments will be served on the night. More information may be had by contacting the Museum at 042 9392999.