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Published online 15 March 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news070312-8

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Life is faster in the temperate zone

Evolution of species is more leisurely in the tropics.

Most people tend to think of the tropics as the hottest scene on the planet when it comes to spawning new life. But Canadian zoologists have found that it is actually the world's temperate zones where new species evolve and become extinct the fastest.

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