Audience: Students; Grades: 9-12; Subject: Science. (2013) Explore the history of life from its humble beginnings as single-celled organisms, to its great blossoming and proliferation, which took place over the course of eons. With the help of state of the art computer graphics, the world's foremost paleontologists and biologists help unravel the greatest mysteries of life. Extinction ? An End and a New Beginning Mass extinctions have shaped and reshaped the landscape of life on earth throughout its history. In this program we chronicle the history of mass extinctions and their effect on evolution. We learn that these events not only destroy life, but also create the fertile ground from which life can take root again.