Topic: Extinctions

Ocean acidification worst in 300 million years, study finds (+video)

Researchers at Columbia University have found that carbon dioxide emissions have lowered the pH at a rate unparalleled in at least the last 300 million years of our planet's history.

Javan rhino goes extinct in Vietnam after last rhino poached

Javan rhino extinct: The last Javan rhino in Vietnam was found poached for its horn.

How long does it take species to go extinct? Longer than previously thought.

Habitat destruction drives species extinct more slowly than previously thought, according to a new model described in this week's Nature. 'We have bought a little time for saving species,' says scientist.

New findings suggest that dinosaurs had lice

Studies of dinosaur lice suggest that birds and mammals began diversifying before dinosaurs went extinct.

A new effort to preserve Iraq's rich biodiversity, from mountains to marshes

As an international conference noted this week, the world's biodiversity is threatened. Iraq is no exception – but before anything can be done, it needs Iraqis who understand the problems.

The extinction risk for birds, mammals, and amphibians

On Tuesday the academic journal Science released an assessment of the survival chances of the world's vertebrates. Working off of the International Union for Conservation of Nature "Red List," which measures extinction risks, the journal analyzed the level of danger for more than 25,000 species. Science found that one-fifth of all species are classified as threatened and that proportion is increasing.

At Japan biodiversity meeting, access to resources divides rich and poor

As talks on halting the global loss of species got underway Monday in Japan, long-standing disagreements over how to split up the economic benefits those species generate are threatening to stall negotiations.

Are we causing a mass extinction in our oceans?

Research shows that many areas of today's oceans have conditions that parallel those of 250 million years ago, when 95 percent of marine species quickly died out.

The largest rat of all time discovered

Just a couple thousand years ago, the world's largest rat, weighing more than the average house cat, scuttled about what is now East Timor of Southeast Asia.

Nemesis hypothesis: Is there a small hidden star orbiting the sun?

Every 27 million years, there is a much higher likelihood of a mass extinction. Some astronomers have proposed that these extinctions are caused by a small comet-disturbing star orbiting our sun, the so-called Nemesis hypothesis.

Snake decline likely in America, too, say biologists

The drastic snake decline seen across five countries in Europe and Africa is likely happening in America as well, says Dr. Rafe Brown of the University of Kansas.

Were woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats wiped out by climate change?

Researchers think that climate swings may have played a central role in the extinction of more than half of heavy mammals.

The Medea Hypothesis: A response to the Gaia hypothesis

A new book, 'The Medea Hypothesis,' looks at the opposite of the Gaia hypothesis and suggests that life on Earth is self-destructive.

An extinction that leaves sameness in its wake

With evolution, scientists must watch out for unexpected twists and turns

Column: We know a lot about life on Earth, but we're still learning fundamental insights all the time.

What temperature is the Earth supposed to be?

Did asteroids really do in the dinosaurs?

Two new studies challenge the current theory.

Today’s unsettling comparison to ‘the great dying’

250 million years ago, rising greenhouse-gas levels set off catastrophic changes.

New sea change forecasts present a slimy picture

Column: Overfishing, a potential mollusk invasion, and the rise of slime threaten ocean ecology.

Study: Math glitch wildly underestimated extinction risk

Endangered species may face an extinction risk that is up to 100 times greater than previously thought, according to a study published in the July 3 issue of Nature.

WWF: Wildlife down by a quarter since 1970s