Study: Humans are driving the loss of entire branches of the ‘Tree of Life’

The last mass extinction happened 66 million years ago when an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. Photo: 123rf.com

Humans are driving the loss of entire branches of the “Tree of Life”, according to a new study published last Monday which warns of the threat of a sixth mass extinction.

“The extinction crisis is as bad as the climate change crisis. It is not recognised,” said Gerardo Ceballos, professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and co-author of the study published in Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences (PNAS).