Webinar series to showcase world class research

Some of the world's leading academics are discussing their work in a series of webinars organised by Durham University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The series, Knowledge Across Borders, will bring together researchers who are outstanding in their fields of expertise to stimulate new, creative and critical thinking, open up new perspectives across cultures, deepen collaboration and share fresh insights. The webinars will cover areas such as palaeontology, astronomy and science and technology as well as addressing interdisciplinary challenges. Leading palaeontologists The first webinar will be held on Thursday 29 October and will be presented by leading palaeontologists, Professor David Harper (Durham University) and Professor Renbin Zhan (Chinese Academy of Sciences/Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology). Titled 'The first carnival of the animals: Causes and consequences of the diversification of Early Palaeozoic marine life', they will discuss how life has been evolving on our planet for some four billion years but for most of geological time life was microbial. Based on their extensive research, the webinar will look at how major biotic events such as the Cambrian Explosion, the Great Ordovician Biodiversification and the Late Ordovician Extinction changed the direction of life on Earth, established its resilience and initiated more modern marine ecosystems. Partnership The Chinese Academy of Sciences is the national academy for the natural sciences in China and is the world's largest research organisation, comprising almost 60,000 researchers working across more than 100 research institutes, academies and universities.