Divers, underwater submersibles and remotely operated vehicles found 886 marine species over a 16-month period, and they have all been deemed new to science.

By Shanna Hanbury The Ocean Census project has identified 866 new marine species, many from the deep seas, less than two years since its launch. The project announced its findings on March 10, marking the first phase of its goal to document 100,

A new study reveals that a region in China's Turpan-Hami Basin served as a refugium, or "life oasis," for terrestrial plants during the end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe biological crisis since the Cambrian period.

Even during one of Earth's largest mass extinction events, where heat waves kill of a majority of Earth's species, at least one oasis of survival existed. The findings suggest that there may have been pockets of protection throughout Earth - challenging the notion that the heat affected life on the planet uniformly,