Tag

Extinction

All articles tagged with #extinction

science7 days ago•52 min saved

Ancient Saber-Toothed Cats Were Health-Compromised by Inbreeding, Study Says

A study of more than 3,700 vertebrae from around 849 Smilodon fatalis individuals found widespread congenital defects—over 200 vertebral malformations, nearly 50 fused vertebrae, and signs of spinal nerve tumors—indicating severe inbreeding and genetic problems in the species before their extinction about 12,000 years ago. While DNA cannot be analyzed from these fossils, the findings from the La Brea Tar Pits suggest inbreeding may have contributed to the decline, highlighting risks faced by modern small populations facing habitat loss and climate change.

via Yahoo|

#congenital-vertebral-malformations #extinction #inbreeding

science14 days ago•11 min saved

Geology-Driven Catastrophe: How Chicxulub Turned a Space Rock into a Global Climate Crisis

A 10-km asteroid hit the Yucatán 66 million years ago, vaporising sulfur-rich rocks beneath it and lofting sulfur-bearing gases and dust into the atmosphere; the impact angle and local geology amplified the effect, triggering global cooling and a mass extinction, though the exact atmospheric recipe is still being refined by researchers.

via Space Daily|

#asteroid #chicxulub #climate

science18 days ago•4 min saved

New Skull Study Rewrites the Dodo’s Brainy Image

A high-resolution CT analysis of three preserved dodo skulls shows the bird’s forebrain was proportionate to other pigeons, suggesting similar cognitive abilities and challenging the stereotype of a stupid dodo; the extinction on Mauritius after humans arrived likely reflected ecological factors rather than inherent dimness, with hints the dodo may have foraged in low-light conditions due to smaller optic lobes.

via New York Post|

#dodo #extinction #intelligence

science18 days ago•4 min saved

Dodo skulls reveal sharper senses and dusk foraging

CT-scanning the two only complete dodo skulls (plus a third) enabled researchers to reconstruct endocasts and compare the dodo’s brain with those of pigeons, doves, and the Rodrigues solitaire. The results suggest the dodo may have foraged at dawn and dusk, had a stronger sense of smell, and used its large upper beak to feel its surroundings, implying it was smarter than many birds and offering new insights into how it lived and why it went extinct.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#brain #ct-scan #dodo

science23 days ago•131 min saved

Dust from the Chicxulub impact could have fueled global firestorms hotter than previously imagined

A new study argues that a thick layer of fine silicate dust formed from rock vapor at the Chicxulub impact may have trapped heat and amplified Earth's post-impact heat pulse to about 3.5 times higher than models considering only the spherules, potentially igniting grass, lichens, and pine needles and delivering roughly 17 times the lethal thermal dose to exposed animals. This dust layer could also help block sunlight, fueling a prolonged “impact winter.” Global wildfire evidence is not yet confirmed beyond North America, but the proposed mechanism is published in JGR Biogeosciences (July 28).

via space.com|

#chicxulub #dust-layer #extinction

science1 month ago•5 min saved

EDGE scores spotlight a hidden plant extinction crisis

A Science study applies EDGE scores to flowering plants (angiosperms) and finds that 21.2% of their evolutionary history is at risk of extinction, with 9,945 of 335,497 known species (about 3%) being both evolutionarily unique and globally endangered. The findings highlight overlooked species and urge targeted conservation to safeguard biodiversity and potential future benefits like medicines and crops.

via ScienceAlert|

#angiosperms #biodiversity #conservation

science1 month ago•12 min saved

Rare meteorite class identified as Chicxulub’s trigger, study finds

A new study identifies Chicxulub’s impactor as a rare carbon monoxide–bearing chondrite, a meteorite type comprising about 5% of samples. While this confirms the asteroid theory for the dinosaurs’ extinction, researchers say atmospheric debris—not sulfur in the meteorite—was the main killer, and trace elements in a KT boundary clay point to an origin from the outer asteroid belt near Jupiter or the distant solar system.

via The Independent|

#dinosaurs #extinction #meteor

environment1 month ago•1 min saved

Bobcat sightings surge in New England, fueling catamount curiosity

New England residents report a surge in bobcat sightings—especially in Rhode Island (about 1,500 reports in the past year)—reviving discussion of the catamount, the mountain lion long considered extinct in the region, even as officials note the eastern puma was delisted from the endangered list in 2018.

via The Boston Globe|

#bobcats #catamount #environment

science1 month ago•12 min saved

New Mexico Fossils Suggest Dinosaurs Thrived Right Before Extinction

A 2025 Science study of the Naashoibito Member in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin dates fossils to roughly the final 380,000 years before the mass extinction, revealing a diverse, thriving dinosaur ecosystem that included Tyrannosaurus, Torosaurus and Alamosaurus—challenging the long-held view of a global dinosaur decline. The site shows two distinct regional communities, but experts caution this is one location and not a worldwide census, so more dated sites are needed to confirm whether the end of the dinosaurs was the result of an external catastrophe or a broader decline.

via Space Daily|

#dinosaurs #extinction #new-mexico

science-and-tech1 month ago•25 min saved

Could We Spot a Doomsday Asteroid Before It Strikes?

The article asks if humanity could detect an extinction-level asteroid before impact, using the dinosaurs’ 10 km carbonaceous impactor as a case study. It explains that warning time depends on the object’s origin, speed (~21 km/s), and whether it brightens from outgassing; best-case scenarios could offer weeks to a month of naked-eye visibility if the body comes from the night side and becomes bright, but more typical cases might yield only days or hours, or no warning at all if it’s sun-ward or depleted of volatiles. It also highlights how albedo and orbital geometry affect detectability, and stresses the need for planetary defense to gain decades of lead time for meaningful intervention.

via Big Think|

#albedo #asteroid #chicxulub

science2 months ago•7 min saved

Cosmic Flybys May Have Triggered Earth’s Mass Extinctions, New Theory Suggests

A new preprint by Daniele Fargion proposes that flybys of planetary-mass objects in the outer Solar System could generate strong tides, volcanism, and climate upheavals on Earth, contributing to past mass extinctions beyond the Chicxulub event. The idea emphasizes tidal effects from near-passages (not direct collisions) and links several geological anomalies to such events; the hypothesis is controversial and based on correlations in the geological record. The paper, presented in 2025 and available on arXiv, underscores the possibility that distant, massive objects occasionally influence Earth’s history.

via ScienceAlert|

#extinction #mass-extinction #planetary-mass-objects

science2 months ago•23 min saved

DNA reshapes Neanderthal extinction: population webs and possible human impact

A team sequenced 27 Neanderthals from 10 sites across Belgium and France, showing late Neanderthals in northwestern Europe lived in large, interconnected populations rather than isolated groups, which challenges the idea that extinction was driven solely by genetic decline. The Belgian Goyet site reveals cannibalism but within the same genetic group, and the study finds no evidence of recent Neanderthal ancestry in humans, even as modern humans carry Neanderthal DNA. The researchers also advance methods to recover data from degraded remains, enabling population-level reconstructions and richer insights into Neanderthal life and interactions.

via EL PAÍS English|

#ancient-genomes #dna #extinction

science2 months ago•10 min saved

Yucatán Impact Triggered Global Darkness and Mass Extinction

About 66 million years ago, a 10–15 km asteroid hit the Yucatán, creating the Chicxulub crater (~180 km across) and releasing energy equivalent to about 5 billion Hiroshima bombs. The impact ejected vast material, lofting dust, soot, and aerosols that blocked sunlight and likely caused a prolonged “impact winter,” leading to the mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and roughly 75% of species. Survival was uneven: around 12% of land species persisted, while freshwater life fared better (~90%). The crater’s link to the extinction was established in the 1990s, with 2016 drilling confirming deep-Earth material in the peak ring; scientists continue debating the exact roles of soot versus sulfur and how long the dark interval lasted.

via Space Daily|

#astronomy #chicxulub #extinction

science2 months ago•36 min saved

Ancient fungal clues reveal Earth was stressed before the dinosaur extinction

A Johns Hopkins study analyzed ancient fungal spores in sediments and found three pre-impact fungal blooms dating up to 30,000 years before the asteroid, likely tied to Deccan Traps volcanism that cooled the climate and stressed ecosystems; a second fungal surge occurred at the asteroid boundary, and recovery after the mass extinction was slow and uneven, suggesting the crisis began before the impact.

via Earth.com|

#climate-change #deccan-traps #dinosaurs

science3 months ago•6 min saved

Tiny 75-million-year-old mammal offers clues on how mammals outlived the dinosaurs

UW researchers describe Cimolodon desosai, a hamster-sized Late Cretaceous mammal from Baja California, as a new species of multituberculate. Its small size, omnivorous diet and arboreal habits likely helped its lineage survive the dinosaur extinction about 66 million years ago, contributing to later mammal diversity. The fossil includes a skull, jaws and limb bones and was analyzed with micro-CT imaging to confirm its distinct status, with the name honoring field assistant Michael de Sosa VI.

via ScienceDaily|

#cimolodon #extinction #fossils