Earth 'entering new extinction phase' - US study

[3rdRock]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33209548

The Earth has entered a new period of extinction, a study by three US universities has concluded, and humans could be among the first casualties.

The report, led by the universities of Stanford, Princeton and Berkeley, said vertebrates were disappearing at a rate 114 times faster than normal.

The findings echo those in a report published by Duke University last year.

One of the new study's authors said: "We are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event."

No surprises there then.

[biffvernon]

Here's the real thing: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/5/e1400253