extinction

Scientists believe that the Earth is currently in the midst of its sixth major extinction event, but a new study suggests that’s not the case – it may actually be the seventh. Scientists have found evidence of a previously unknown mass extinction event that struck half a billion years ago.While patterns of extinction rise and fall over time, it’s generally accepted that there are five major outliers where more than 70% of life on Earth was wiped out. The first occurred about 450 million years ago at the end of the…

Idealized molybdenum (Mo) and Mo/total organic carbon (TOC) systematics in the marine realm. The bottom panel (solid line) represents local Mo concentrations and Mo/TOC values measured from fine-grained, siliciclastic-dominated sedimentary succession. The top panel (dashed line) represents the global marine Mo reservoir. The pie chart represents the relative contribution of oxic and reducing environments with respect to burial of Mo within the global…

Nevin Kozik, a former FSU doctoral student and now a visiting assistant professor at Occidental College, during fieldwork to investigate how rapid changes in marine oxygen levels may have played a significant role in driving Earth's first mass extinction. Credit: Nevin Kozik Rapid changes in marine oxygen levels may have played a significant role in driving Earth's first mass extinction, according to a new study led by Florida…

Palaeoneiros clackorum skull and shoulder girdle. Credit: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; © President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeAccording to new research, ray-finned fish, now the most diverse group of backboned animals, were not as hard hit by a mass extinction event as scientists previously thought.The extinction event that ended the Devonian period 360 million years ago corresponds to a major change in the kinds of fishes populating ancient seas and lakes. Ray-finned fishes, the staple of the…

The earliest morphological traces of life on Earth are often highly controversial. A new study by Virginia Tech geobiologists traces the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals to decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present near the end of the Ediacaran Period some 550 million years ago.The research spearheaded by Scott Evans, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geosciences, part of the Virginia Tech College of Science, shows this earliest mass…

Since the Cambrian explosion 538.8 million years ago – a time when many of the animal phyla we're familiar with today were established – five major mass extinction events have whittled down the biodiversity of all creatures great and small.Researchers from the US have uncovered evidence of one occurring earlier, around 550 million years ago during a period known as the Ediacaran.Though the oceans teemed with a few familiar animals like sponges and jellyfish, most life during this early period of biological history would…

Impressions of the Ediacaran fossils Dickinsonia (at center) with the smaller anchor shaped Parvancorina (left) in sandstone of the Ediacara Member from the Nilpena Ediacara National Park in South Australia. Credit: Scott Evans. A new study by Virginia Tech geobiologists traces the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals to decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present…

Around 67 million years ago in what is now North Dakota, a duck-billed dinosaur keeled over and died, and crocodiles’ ancient relatives descended on the carcass, tearing holes through the skin and marking up the bones. Today, evidence of the predators’ feast can still be seen in the dino’s fossilized remains, which include remarkable “mummified” skin.  These lingering bite marks may help explain how the dinosaur became a mummy in the first place, a new study suggests. The research, published Wednesday (Oct. 12) in the…

Mammoth skeletons at auction in 2017.Photo: Rob Stothard (Getty Images)A venture capital firm funded by the CIA has officially placed its bets on bringing back extinct species like the woolly mammoth and the thylacine, according to a public portfolio released this month and spotted by The Intercept.The company is called In-Q-Tel, and its mission (according to its website) is to invest in technologies that bolster the United States’ national security. In-Q-Tel is over 20 years old, but only now have its taxpayer dollars…

If you compare the feature sets of modern languages like C++, Python, and Rust, the C language is starting to look like a grandpa! C is one of the oldest and most tried languages and according to many young developers, this Programming Language has outlived its usefulness. For programmers, there are more productive ways to develop software. The odds of getting engineers a reliable program to use are significantly better with C#. While C is an expressive and powerful language, letting anyone but very experienced…