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Extra genomes helped plants to survive extinction event that killed dinosaurs

Not Exactly Rocket Science
By Ed Yong
Mar 24, 2009 2:00 AMNov 5, 2019 2:00 AM

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Sixty-five million years ago, life on Earth was sorely tested. One or more catastrophic events including a massive asteroid strike and increased volcanic activity, created wildfires on a global scale and dust clouds that cut the planet's surface off from the sun's vital light. The majority of animal species went extinct including, most famously, the dinosaurs. The fate of the planet's plants is less familiar, but 60% of those also perished. What separated the survivors from the deceased? How did some species cross this so-called "K/T boundary"?

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