169: A Bone to Pick

It"s an ancient story, but fossils have been with us since time immemorial. In this episode, we hear about the history of chemists and their interpretation of fossils. Scientists first began considering fossils as evidence of past life in the 17th century. We hear about the fossil record, and the oldest fossils, then the oldest fossils with organic matter preserved, and the chemical controversy over how collagen can remain for millions of years. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook