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One longstanding mystery in bio-evolution since Darwin's time is the originof the Cambrian explosion that happened around 540 million years ago (Mya),where an extremely rapid increase of species occurred. Here we suggest that anearby GRB event ~500 parsecs away, which should occur about once per 5 Gy,might have triggered the Cambrian explosion. Due to a relatively lower crosssection and the conservation of photon number in Compton scattering, asubstantial fraction of the GRB photons can reach the sea level and wouldinduce DNA mutations in organisms protected by a shallow layer of water orsoil, thus expediting the bio-diversification. This possibility of inducinggenetic mutations is unique among all candidate sources for major incidents inthe history of bio-evolution. A possible evidence would be the anomalousabundance of certain nuclear isotopes with long half-lives transmuted by theGRB photons in geological records from the Cambrian period. Our notion alsoimposes constraints on the evolution of exoplanet organisms and the migrationof panspermia.

Did Gamma Ray Burst Induce Cambrian Explosion?