Recent genetic research has dramatically reshaped our understanding of human history, revealing that the survival and global spread of modern humans were not as straightforward as previously believed. Central to this narrative is the concept of Neanderthal interbreeding, which played a pivotal role in our ancestors’ ability to thrive outside Africa. This genetic exchange has …
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The Ocean Genome Atlas Project (OGAP) is conducting pioneering research off Greenland’s coast, using a sailboat to sequence plankton DNA and explore Earth’s evolutionary past. Led by neuroscientist Leonid Moroz and expedition leader Peter Molnar, OGAP is on a mission to catalog and map 80% of the ocean’s smallest life forms. Their aim is to …
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A new study conducted by Virginia Tech geobiologists suggests that the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals was decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present near the end of the Ediacaran Period roughly 550 million years ago.
Geologists are looking for a site that best demonstrates how humans have changed the structure of our planet’s surface. This place will best illustrate when a new epoch called the Anthropocene was born and its predecessor called the Holocene came to an end.
Around 650 million years ago, the Earth entered into the Marinoan glaciation where the entire planet froze. The “Snowball Earth” restricted the evolution of life. But when it warmed, biotic life began to flourish. A research team from Tohoku University has studied rock samples from China to tell us more about this transition.
Our planet’s worst mass extinction took place 252 million years ago when massive volcanic eruptions caused epic climate change. Most animal species went extinct and set the stage for the early days of the age of Dinosaurs.
