UWinnipeg Anthropology professor, Dr. Mary Silcox
One of the most popular science programs in North America is featuring the work of UWinnipeg Anthropology professor, Dr. Mary Silcox on Wednesday, July 9 (PBS TV).
Nova scienceNow, an offshoot of NOVA, will air the story about Dr. Silcox’s work with the most primitive primate skeleton known. The skeleton is of a small creature slightly bigger than a mouse (Dryomomys szalayi) that lived in Wyoming about 55 million years ago. Dr. Silcox was interviewed for the TV program while using a powerful CT scanner at Penn State University, a machine so powerful it is located in a lead-lined room because of the high energy X-rays it generates. With this technology, Dr. Silcox is able to scan the inside of fragile fossils and obtain images that are of much higher resolution than traditional medical “catscans”. This allows for the study of the detailed anatomy of Dryomomys and his kin, generating evidence that they are in fact the earliest members of the Primates, the order to which we belong.
Dr. Silcox will also be a featured as the expert for the question and answer feature “Ask the Expert” on the companion Nova website, answering 10 questions from the public after the program has aired.
“NOVA is the premiere forum for documentaries about science on television, and has earned the respect of researchers across North America,” said Silcox, “ so it is very exciting to have my work featured in such a broad context. Part of the point of my research is to enhance our understanding of our own place in nature. I hope that this piece will help people to embrace these earliest primates as kin, and to develop a sense of connection with the biological world.”
Dr. Silcox works collaboratively on this research with Dr Jonathan Bloch (University of Florida), Dr. Eric Sargis (Yale University) and Doug Boyer (SUNY Stony Brook). Several UWinnipeg undergraduate students are also working with Dr. Silcox this summer using the CT data she compiled at Penn State to further understand primitive fossil primates. “This is a rare opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in cutting edge research,” Silcox notes, “which is in keeping with our commitment at the University of Winnipeg to offer undergraduates exceptional opportunities for learning not only in the classroom but also in the research lab.”
NOVA scienceNOW featuring Dr. Mary Silcox airs Wednesday, July 9 at 8 pm (CST).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135 E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
