Surviving Extinction: How Flowers Flourished After the Dinosaurs' Demise

A new study reveals that flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, were able to survive the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. While some species were lost, the event ultimately helped flowering plants become the dominant type of plant on Earth today. The study analyzed DNA sequences of thousands of living species and found that the lineages of flowering plants were able to flourish and dominate after the extinction event. Flowering plants' ability to adapt, including various seed-dispersal and pollination mechanisms, genome duplication, and new ways of photosynthesis, contributed to their survival and success.