Survival belongs to organisms that respond effectively to change as environments shift over time.
From History: From 717 million years ago through 635.
Snowball Earth was a time when our planet may have frozen nearly from pole to pole, testing life and setting the stage for later biological change.
In one brief line in 1859, Darwin moved human origins inside science. His quote signaled that our species should be studied as part of nature.
From History: ~2.4 Billion Years Ago
About 2.4 billion years ago, Cyanobacteria “hacked” the sun to split water, releasing oxygen as a byproduct and triggering the first global environmental catastrophe and subsequent biological reset.
By about 375 million years ago, several animal lineages had evolved long-term memory to navigate a changing world, remembering feeding sites, water access, and safe routes between land and water. This likely included vertebrates like Tiktaalik.
From History: 470 Million Years Ago (+/- 10 million)
Around 470 million years ago, plants evolved a waxy cuticle to prevent water loss; only later did water-transporting vascular systems evolve.