How long will life survive on Earth?

In theory a long GRB could obliterate Earth's ozone layer, leaving the life on the surface exposed to deadly ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Many regions of space may have been rendered inhospitable to life by too-frequent GRBs, according to a study published in 2014 by Raul Jimenez at the University of Barcelona in Spain and Tsvi Piran at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. read more

Life has existed on Earth for billions of years, appearing shortly after the planet had cooled and liquid water became available. From the first bacteria to the amazingly complex animals we see today, life has colonized every corner of our planet. read more

Earth could continue to host life for at least another 1.75 billion years, as long as nuclear holocaust, an errant asteroid or some other disaster doesn't intervene, a new study calculates. But even without such dramatic doomsday scenarios, astronomical forces will eventually render the planet uninhabitable. read more