At the site of the dinosaur-killing crater, scientists find a surprise

When colossal asteroids rock Earth, it's not all doom and gloom.

The menacing asteroid that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs left a colossal marine crater in what's now the Yucatan Peninsula. But after analyzing deeply drilled rock core from the impact site created by the six-mile-wide asteroid, geologists have found compelling evidence that life soon thrived in the basin following the seismic episode.

The asteroid's impact stoked nutrients and chemicals to be released from beneath the seafloor...