Mass Extinctions, Ancient Viruses May Hold Clues to Life`s Origins
Friday, April 3, 2009 - 09:35
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Mass extinctions occur repeatedly, though irregularly, throughout Earth`s history, and occasionally these extinctions have been devastating to life on our planet - or have they? Extinction events have sometimes accelerated the evolution of life on earth by eliminating old dominating species and making room for new ones. A new study takes this idea a step further, showing that life may have never achieved the complexity necessary for the development of advanced multi-cellular organisms without recurring extinction events.