The science behind extinction

Latest Stanford Health Alerts on COVID-19 COVID-19 Info for Stanford Earth - Losing species - Image credit: Shutterstock A collection of research and insights from Stanford experts who are deciphering the mysteries and mechanisms of extinction and survival in Earth's deep past and painting an increasingly detailed picture of life now at the brink. An estimated 8 million animal and plant species live on planet Earth.  But extinction rates are  accelerating. Gorillas, gazelles, frogs, rhinos and whales are among the species now critically endangered, and human activities present the biggest threat. In mass extinctions, a huge portion of the planet's species die off over thousands or even millions of years - a geological blink. Scientists have identified five of these events in fossil data going back roughly half a billion years. Scientists who study past extinction events can find clues about not only the evolution of life on Earth, but also about the effects of extreme changes in our planet's atmosphere, and how life finds ways to rebound.