Ancient meteorite was 'giant fertilizer bomb' for life on Earth

The space rock that slammed into Earth 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period caused a global calamity that doomed the dinosaurs and many other life forms. Researchers assessed the effects of this meteorite impact using evidence from ancient rocks in a region in northeastern South Africa called the Barberton Greenstone Belt. "Life not only recovered quickly once conditions returned to normal within a few years to decades, it actually thrived," said Harvard University geologist Nadja Drabon, lead author of the study published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.