Making a mammal

Carl Sagan once said "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe". As it happens, that very same universe is the one that made possible the making of mammals. So, what are some of the essential ingredients and conditions that made the making of a mammal possible? In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills chats with Dr Peter Bishop, an Aussie abroad, currently engaged in palaeo research at Harvard University. Through his background in physics and mathematics Peter has applied biomechanical principles to understand extinct animals, particularly synapsids, which has led to some fascinating insights in to how to do just that- to make a mammal! Michael begins the discussion by asking Peter about his journey from an outback Queensland mega-fauna site where the two first met several years ago, while digging up giant, prehistoric kangaroos, extinct , to Harvard… You can find Peter’s work at… https://www.mcz.harvard.edu/people/peter-bishop https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=M5u3GysAAAAJ&utm Host Michael Mills can be found on Insta as The HeapsGood Guy at https://www.instagram.com/heapsgood/ On Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/heapsgood.bsky.social Palaeo Jam has its own Insta account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam/