A switch in ocean circulation that helped end the Ice Age

Changes in the circulation of the North Pacific Ocean about 15,000 years ago released large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, helping warm the planet and end the last Ice Age, according to research by scientists at the University ...

Researchers discover how colliding oxygen molecules absorb light

Scientists at Radboud University have managed to do what had never been tried before: accurately describe how colliding oxygen molecules absorb light. Our atmosphere consists of approximately 20 percent oxygen molecules, ...

Insects took off when they evolved wings

The evolution of wings not only allowed ancient insects to become the first creatures on Earth to take to the skies, but also propelled their rise to become one of nature's great success stories, according to a new study.

Novel hypothesis on why animals diversified on Earth

Can tumors teach us about animal evolution on Earth? Researchers believe so, and now present a novel hypothesis of why animal diversity increased dramatically on Earth about a half-billion years ago. A biological innovation ...

World's oldest known oxygen oasis discovered

In the Earth's early history, several billion years ago, only traces of oxygen existed in the atmosphere and the oceans. Today's air-breathing organisms could not have existed under those conditions. The change was caused ...

Which came first: Complex life or high atmospheric oxygen?

We and all other animals wouldn't be here today if our planet didn't have a lot of oxygen in its atmosphere and oceans. But how crucial were high oxygen levels to the transition from simple, single-celled life forms to the ...

How fungi helped create life as we know it

Today our world is visually dominated by animals and plants, but this world would not have been possible without fungi, say University of Leeds scientists.

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