Recorded Thursday 14 October 2021. Part of our Science in Health Public Lecture Series 2021-2022. Professor Matthew Cobb Professor of Zoology, University of Manchester One of the most exciting parts of 21st century science has been the use of genetics to understand patterns of human evolution. Coupled with astonishing fossil discoveries, this has led to a complete change in our understanding of who we are, and what it means to be human. In this talk, Professor Cobb summarises how this change came about and describes some of the most recent work, including the amazing ability to detect ancient DNA in even the most unlikely places, and how this is opening up new areas of research. Find out more about our Science in Health Public Lecture Series by visiting http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/scienceinhealth