Wipeout: The End of the World?!

The world is on the brink of a sixth great extinction which could wipe out all life on earth, scientists claim.

A Duke University study found that species of plants and animals are becoming extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the planet.

The research looks primarily at the past and present rates of extinction and finds a lower rate in the past than scientists had thought. 

Species are now disappearing from Earth about 10 times faster than biologists had believed, according to  Stuart Pimm of Duke University.

"We are on the verge of the sixth extinction," he said.

"Whether we avoid it or not will depend on our actions."

A vast majority of the world's life has been snuffed out in five previous  mass extinctions, often associated with giant meteor strikes. 

About 66 million years ago, one such extinction killed off the dinosaurs and three quarters of the species on Earth. 

Around 252 million years ago, the Great Dying snuffed out about 90 percent of the world's species.

Climate change, construction and unsustainable living practices are all being blamed for our predicted demise.

Dalhousie University marine biologist Boris Worm, who wasn't part of the study but praised it, said, "If we don't do anything, this will go the way of the dinosaurs."