Aliens, disease or ‘grey goo’… here’s how scientists think humans will eventually go EXTINCT
Scientists have spent decades obsessing over our extinction, and some of their terrifying theories are far more plausible than you'd think
HUMANS have walked the earth for over a million years, but how much longer does our species have left?
Scientists have spent decades obsessing over how humans will go extinct, and some of their terrifying theories are far more plausible than you'd like to think.
We've seen nightmare scenarios unfold in countless disaster movies, but we all know that one day our species will be no more.
Whilst it's possible that our population could decline naturally, or that we will evolve into a new, better species, there are also some less comforting theories about human extinction.
From angry aliens to grey goo, here are some of science's most terrifying takes on how humans will go extinct...
A pandemic
Some theorists believe that an unstoppable disease will tear through the ever-growing human population - and it may end up being so deadly that nobody can live through it.
A virus capable of using other species as carriers could conceivably infect every human on Earth, just as terrifying antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a threat to our very existence.
Nuclear or biological war
If a third world war were to break out, then the next arms race could signal the beginning of the end for our species.
Earth-shattering nuclear weapons could develop even further, or omnicidal terrorists could weaponise an antibiotic-resistant disease and unleash it on the world.
Grey goo
As nanotechnology advances, humans are becoming better at making sophisticated, tiny robots, which could one day be capable of self replicating and building more of themselves.
Scientists worry that a self-replicating robot could theoretically consume everything on the planet as it clones itself over and over again, as part of a scenario known as "grey goo."
Black holes or asteroids
Threats from space are just as terrifying - an asteroid could wipe out humans the same way it could have wiped out the dinosaurs.
Alternatively, a black hole could consume the planet, and there were even fears that the atom-smashing Hadron Collider would accidentally create one on Earth.
Alien invasion
Another extraterrestrial threat comes in the form of a dangerous alien species, which could destroy or conquer earth with their superior technology.
Scientists actually believe this is a possibility, although they conclude that it's very unlikely.
AI
The creators of the first super-intelligent AI could end up being outsmarted by it - and it could be capable of destroying the world.
Researchers fear that Artificial Intelligence could lead to the creation of robot armies, or one god-like computer being with the power to wipe out humanity.
Habitat threats
The expanding Sun will eventually become so powerful that the Earth's oceans will start to evaporate, and our planet's climate will change forever.
Before then, the extinction of other species, pollution or natural changes in the Earth's atmosphere may make our planet uninhabitable.
