Plants survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid by duplicating genomes

When an asteroid as big as Mount Everest struck Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and roughly a third of life on the planet. But many plants survived the devastation.   In a new study publishing May 8 in the Cell Press journal Cell, researchers reveal that the accidental duplications of genomes—a natural phenomenon—might have helped many flowering plants survive some of the most extreme environmental upheavals in Earth’s history. This strategy could help plants adapt to the rapid climate changes unfolding today.