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Humans have walked the Earth for 190,000 years, a mere blip in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history. A lot has happened in that time. Earth formed and oxygen levels rose in the foundational years of the Precambrian. The productive Paleozoic era gave rise to hard-shelled organisms, vertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth in the mighty Mesozoic. And 64 million years after dinosaurs went extinct, modern humans emerged in the Cenozoic era. The planet has seen an incredible series of changes—discover them for yourself.
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2012 Emerging Explorers
ScienceBlogs Picks
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Explorer Moment: Ray of Hope
Biologist Andrea Marshall leads her team in discovering new and conserving known manta ray species.
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Sylvia Earle on Women in Science
Sylvia Earle reflects on her scientific career and on gender obstacles she faced along the way.
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Phenomena: A Science Salon
National Geographic Magazine
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Longevity Pictures
Our genes harbor many secrets to a long and healthy life. And now scientists are beginning to uncover them
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Element Hunters Pictures
All the elements found in nature—the different kinds of atoms—were found long ago. To bag a new one these days, and push the frontiers of matter, you have to create it first.
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Good Gas, Bad Gas
Burn natural gas and it warms your house. But let it leak, from fracked wells or the melting Arctic, and it warms the whole planet.
Genographic
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Explorer Moment: Ray of Hope
Biologist Andrea Marshall leads her team in discovering new and conserving known manta ray species.
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Sylvia Earle on Women in Science
Sylvia Earle reflects on her scientific career and on gender obstacles she faced along the way.
