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Excerpt from scitechdaily.com
Research from the University of Michigan has uncovered changes in the genomes of early bird ancestors following the mass extinction caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago, identifying “genomic fossils” that illustrate significant DNA shifts. These changes, crucial for bird evolution, reveal how such catastrophic events have deep and lasting impacts on biodiversity and organismal biology.
Research reveals that the end-Cretaceous mass extinction significantly altered bird genomes, contributing to the evolution and diversity of today’s birds. By analyzing genomic fossils and evolutionary shifts, the study provides deeper understanding of how mass extinctions shape life on Earth.
Shortly after an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, life for non-avian dinosaurs came to an end, but the evolutionary story for the early ancestors of birds began.
