66 million years ago, a meteorite that fell to Earth caused a mass extinction.
Then more than 76% of all animals, including dinosaurs, disappeared. Later, dinosaurs were replaced by birds.
They became some of the most successful descendants of these ancient creatures.
Recent research by scientists from the University of Michigan has shown that changes in the DNA of birds played a decisive role in their evolution.
And they happened after this catastrophic event.
By studying the genetics of birds, researchers aim to understand what changes allowed birds to survive the global crisis and evolve into the diverse species we know today.
Scientists have studied molecular evolution in birds and discovered significant changes in their DNA that occurred precisely during this disaster.
It turns out that evolutionary changes in birds after the mass extinction were associated with changes in body size, growth rate and metabolism.
As ScienceAdviser reports, this suggests that events 66 million years ago not only led to the extinction of many species.
They launched powerful processes that became fundamental to the further evolution of birds on our planet.
