Extinction
Extinction occurs when every single member of a species dies, and is unfortunately on the rise. We are currently experiencing an ongoing sixth age of extinction with extinction rates greater than the dinosaur extinction event (K-T extinction). Sometimes referred to as the holocene or anthropocene extinction, this current event is closely linked to human activity. In particular, climate change and habitat loss. Although the future looks grim, life finds a way.

What mass extinctions can teach us about the future of life on Earth

Inside the surprising and numerous mass extinctions in our planet's history.
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The science of de-extinction

Inside the company attempting to resurrect the woolly mammoth.
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Dinosaurs: The Final Day. A closer look at the fossil site uncovered in Attenborough's new show

Meet Robert DePalma, one of the scientists piecing together evidence from the day an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.
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What would happen if all volcanoes on Earth erupted at once?

Fortunately, this is vanishingly unlikely to happen.
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Should we cull the beaver? A legal case at the heart of the rewilding debate

A Scottish legal battle over licences to shoot beavers is setting the scene for a fresh debate on how the reintroduction of native species should be managed.
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Did a huge comet impact ignite civilisation on Earth as we know it?

A new analysis suggests society may have started with a bang.
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10 monstrous beasts we're glad have gone extinct

We don't like to see animals go extinct, but we're happy we won't come face-to-face with these colossal creatures, which could crush today’s titans with ease.
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Science’s cutting-edge: seven ideas you should know about in 2021

From life-saving viruses to spaceship swarms to virtual reality therapy, here's our pick of the scientific research to look out for in the year ahead.
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World’s most threatened orangutan species ‘in more trouble than previously thought’

The rare primate was already classified as critically endangered when it was first identified in 2017.
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These photos of endangered animals are funding wildlife relief projects

The Remembering Wildlife photography collections have raised over £600,000 for conservation projects working with endangered species.
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Are hedgehogs really going extinct in the UK?

Hedgehog numbers have sharply declined in the last two decades. Are they at risk of disappearing from the UK forever?
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A timeline of the Earth after we go extinct

A step-by-step, day-by-day guide to how nature and the planet adjust after humanity exits the stage.
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Five ways humanity might become extinct

99 per of the species that lived on Earth have gone extinct, but should this worry us? Here are five ways humanity might go the way of the dodo.
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How human extinction would change the Earth

If our species disappeared tomorrow, what would actually happen, and what kind of planet would we be leaving behind?
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Newly discovered mass extinction paved the way for dinosaurs

Massive volcano eruptions led to increased rainfall in a period called the Carnian Pluvial Episode.
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Mastodons were driven north by climate change 2.5 million years ago

Present-day species like moose and beavers are expanding northwards in a similar way.
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Extinct woolly rhinos were a victim of climate change, not overhunting

The woolly rhino went extinct around 14,000 to 15,000 years ago.
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Could we bring back an extinct species using DNA, Jurassic Park style?

Asked by: Alec Maddocks, via email
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Can we bring extinct animals back from the dead?

Mammoths, Tasmanian tigers and even Elvis could soon be brought back from the dead, thanks to intriguing advances in cloning and gene editing. But would they be the real thing?
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Asteroid impact ‘only plausible explanation’

Researchers say an asteroid caused an impact winter for decades, and that the environmental effects destroyed suitable environments for the creatures.
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Extinction of land-based vertebrate species risks 'catastrophic ecosystem collapse'

More than 500 land-based vertebrate species are on the brink of extinction in the next two decades as a result of human activities, scientists have warned.
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