[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Poinar_Hendrik3.jpg” caption=”Hendrik Poinar, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology. File photo.”]This year's McKay-Thode Lecture will feature a discussion by Hendrik Poinar, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, on Molecules from the Past and the Benefits of Time Travel.

The genetic components (DNA and RNA) of all organisms are relatively weak when compared to other cellular molecules. This inherent instability allows for their constant repair, enabling the faithful passing of our genetic ancestry between generations.

Experiments on the rate and nature of DNA degradation suggest that small stretches of the DNA molecule should not survive for longer than 100,000 years in most geological settings. Empriical data show that DNA molecules can persist beyond what in vitro chemistry predicts even some millions of years in age.

Armed with an array of “genetic time machines,” Poinar will explore some of the fascinating questions we are addressing with molecules extracted from fossil and archival remains.

For example, where did woolly mammoths originate and why did they become extinct? Will it be possible to recreate extinct life through whole genomic sequencing and should we? When, where and how did HIV-1 begin? What was the causative agent of the Plague? Will the next antibiotics come from ancient permafrost?

Molecules from the past can help us address origins and the tempo and mode of evolution in animals, plants and infectious diseases.

The McKay-Thode lecture is named after two of McMaster's most
distinguished scholars: Dr. Alexander McKay and Dr. Henry Thode,
both former presidents of the Royal Society of Canada. Initiated by Dr. E.J.M. (Moran) Campbell, founding chair of the Department of Medicine, the purpose of the lecture is to stimulate debate by providing a forum for distinguished McMaster faculty to present their work to the University and community at large.

The 2008 McKay-Thode Lecture will be held on Thursday, March 6 at 8 p.m. in the Health Sciences Centre, Ewart Angus 1A1. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Sandra Witelson at 905-521-2100, ext. 76438.