DNA and Ancient Scrolls

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• Prof. Chris Howe
• Wednesday 16 October 2013, 21:00-22:00
• Nihon Room, Pembroke College.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Graham Edgecombe.

As DNA is copied, mistakes can be made and then propagated in subsequent rounds of copying. Changes in DNA sequences among different species are widely used to construct evolutionary trees, showing how the species are related – sometimes with surprising conclusions. However, other things undergo the same process of ‘copying with changes’ including manuscripts. We have successfully used computer programs designed for analysing DNA sequences to study the copying history of sets of manuscripts, for example for the Canterbury Tales. Exactly the same approach has been used to study the evolution of things as diverse as languages and Persian carpets.

This talk is part of the Stokes Society, Pembroke College series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Forum of Science and Humanities
• Cambridge Language Sciences
• Cambridge talks
• Chris Davis' list
• Guy Emerson's list
• Nihon Room, Pembroke College
• PMRFPS's
• Stokes Society, Pembroke College

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