What is a mass extinction? Extinction is a part of life, and animals and plants disappear all the time. About 98% of all the organisms that have ever existed on our planet are now extinct. When a ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. ON A COMPUTER MONITOR, in a laboratory half the size of a galley ...

In the past couple of decades, several species have been driven to extinction thanks, in large part, to human interference. Sometimes that interference is direct, poaching for big game trophies or ...

Asteroid impacts and volcanism have led to mass extinctions on our planet. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / NASA / Public Domain Life’s first major catastrophe crept across the planet with the ...

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters. At Vox, our mission is to help you make sense of the world — and that work has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own. We ...

Humans have long tinkered with the evolutionary trajectories of other species. Thousands of years ago we tamed wolves into dogs and transformed a wild grass into the agricultural wonder wheat. Within ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. A cataclysm ...

A great spotted woodpecker eats a hazelnut. Bird beaks may have allowed the animals to eat seeds and nuts after an asteroid hit the earth, wiping out many forms of life. Photo by: Arterra/Universal ...

"Dire wolves" created by Colossal Biosciences were pegged as "the first animals in history to be brought back from extinction." But that all depends on your definition of de-extinction — and ...

From the Ordovician period to present day where we may be experiencing a sixth mass extinction, here are the mass extinctions that repeatedly wiped out life on Earth. Congratulations, you’re part of ...