50 years ago, scientists named Earth’s magnetic field as a suspect in extinctions
Excerpt from the November 21, 1970 issue of Science News
![a microscopic image showing several radiolarians](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/100220_JL_50YA-magnetic-fields_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
In 1970, researchers linked the extinction of several species of tiny marine organisms called radiolarians (10 living species pictured here) with reversals in the direction of Earth’s magnetic field.
Randolph Femmer/USGS