Life rebounded shockingly fast after the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs

The asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs didn’t keep life down for long. New research shows that microscopic plankton began evolving into new species within just a few thousand years—and possibly in under 2,000 years—after the disaster. Scientists uncovered this rapid rebound by using a rare isotope marker to more accurately measure time in ancient sediments. The discovery suggests life recovered far faster than previously thought.