The explosive supernova deaths of nearby massive stars may have played a significant role in triggering at least two mass extinction events in Earth's history, according to new research. As some of ...

About 445 million years ago, Earth nearly wiped out life in the oceans. Glaciers spread across the supercontinent Gondwana, ...

About 66 million years ago – perhaps on a downright unlucky day in May – an asteroid smashed into our planet. Even groups that weathered the catastrophe, such as mammals, fishes and flowering plants, ...

Earth has experienced five documented mass extinctions to date. With the sixth extinction around the corner, scientists are looking to the past to try and understand how life continues on after one of ...

At least two mass extinction events in Earth's history were likely caused by the 'devastating' effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests. Researchers say these super-powerful blasts ...

Humans have wiped out hundreds of species — with many more on the brink or experiencing large declines in population. Some scientists have argued that we have entered a “sixth mass extinction” event ...

The Late Devonian represents a critical interval in Earth’s history, marked by a profound restructuring of marine biodiversity and a series of mass extinction events. This period witnessed extensive ...

It had quite an impact — striking with the force of 10 million atomic bombs. Sixty-six million years ago, the asteroid that slammed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula caused a mass extinction ...

Everyone knows that dinosaurs are extinct, and most people have some idea about how it might have occurred. But the exact periods in history when it happened are less well known. Was it a single ...

SALT LAKE CITY — Earth has experienced at least five "mass extinction" events throughout its existence, but some species have been able to survive these major shifts. Utah researchers say they believe ...