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Fossil records help us understand the present and predict future ecosystems
Nov. 5, 2021—By Miquéla Thornton Due to a multitude of human-driven impacts, the Earth is experiencing a biodiversity crisis. It has been referred to as the Sixth Mass Extinction, and scientists are examining similar events in the planet’s geological past looking for clues in ancient ecosystems to help us solve present-day issues. Current events have produced dramatic changes in...
Darwin’s Magnificient Mystery and the Microbiome
Nov. 4, 2021—Darwin’s On the Origin of Species put forth a seminal and revolutionary thesis for the life sciences in 1859: Populations with a common ancestor evolve over time with enough change to become different species that no longer successfully interbreed. This process of descent with modification continues over time to produce lineages of new species. Darwin famously referred to the process of one species becoming two...