Were dinosaurs doomed before the asteroid hit?
Scientists analyzed a rock layer in New Mexico dating to the end of the dinosaur era and found that dinosaurs in the south remained diverse…
Category: Paleobiology
How did land plants change rivers?
Scientists studied meandering rivers across the globe to establish how they responded to the evolution of land plants.
Does the Arctic Ocean regulate or amplify global warming?
Researchers found that interactions between methane gas and seawater affected greenhouse gas emissions from the Arctic Ocean during a past…
Carbon feedbacks 56 million years ago similar to today
Geologists simulated the chemistry of Earth's past oceans and atmosphere using mineral data from the ancient seafloor. They found a…
When did freshwater appear on Earth?
Geologists found chemical ratios in ancient minerals that suggested Earth had freshwater 550 million years after it formed.
A new treasure trove of Cambrian fossils
Paleontologists discovered a new set of fossils from the ancient ancestors of animals in rocks from China.
Is Earth safe from nearby exploding stars?
Scientists used an Earth system model to test how radiation from a nearby supernova would affect life on our planet. They found that the…
How complex plants reshaped the oceans
Researchers found that when complex plants evolved, they increased ocean oxygen and massively restructured the marine ecosystem.
Lightning reacts with minerals to create the building blocks of life
Scientists stimulated atmospheric gases with electricity and found they reacted with common salts and minerals to form complex chemicals…
When did the Galápagos tortoises become giant?
Researchers analyzed new fossils from Ecuador that suggested the ancestors of Galápagos giant tortoises inhabited northern South America…