Fossils and Evolution

Many of our researchers study how life has changed over time—the fundamental process of evolution.  

Some of them use fossils of animals or plants to study species that have been extinct for thousands or millions of years (yes, including dinosaurs!). Others use information from species that exist today to study the present and the past together, often using tools like genomics.  

With fossils, with modern specimens, or with both, our scientists learn more about the history of life on Earth, how species past and present lived or went extinct, and how they’re related to each other.