Dust drove dinosaurs’ extinction after asteroid impact, scientists say

Researchers ran simulations to explore the killing mechanisms' that wiped out 75% of species

In the end it was the dust that did it for the dinosaurs. At least that is the finding of computer simulations of the aftermath of the asteroid impact that reshaped life on Earth 66m years ago.

The cataclysmic impact in what is now Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula wiped out 75% of species on Earth, including non-avian dinosaurs. But the precise nature of the deadly blow has kept scientists busy for decades, with soot-spewing wildfires, volcanic eruptions and vast quantities of sulphur all considered culprits.