In recent years, there has been great progress in geology research and its branches, such as paleontology, and it examines life forms in previous geological ages, as represented by animal and plant fossils. Extinctions in general have continued since the beginning of life throughout geological time, a time measured in billions of years.
Explains David M. Robb” in his book “Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck?” The traditional theories see that extinction affects living organisms when they cannot adapt to environmental factors that challenge their life. Extinction is caused by a defect in the genetic structure. In 1980, a paper by the American scientist Alvarez appeared that suggested that the extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period is often due to a meteorite collision with the Earth. .
Thus, the cause of extinction is not bad genes, but rather bad luck, and this research paper caused an uproar in the specialized scientific circles, and stimulated extensive research in recent years, all trying to answer the question about the cause of extinction, as another question arose: Are we Humans exist now because of our genetic superiority, or have we been lucky and escaped the catastrophes of misfortune?
It seems that the study of extinction is nothing but a study of a negative phenomenon, but David Robb, the author of this book, believes that the study of extinction interests us in many ways, as extinction is one of the driving forces for evolution and the emergence of new species, and its study helps us avoid mistakes that threaten biodiversity.