Lynn Margulis - Böcker

This title is back in print with a revised preface. "Microcosmos" brings together the remarkable discoveries of microbiology of the past two decades and the pioneering research of Dr. Margulis to create a vivid new picture of the world that is crucial to our understanding of the future of the planet. Addressed to general readers, the book provides a beautifully written view of evolution as a process based on interdependency and their interconnectedness of all life on the planet.

Although Charles Darwin's theory of evolution laid the foundations of modern biology, it did not tell the whole story. Most remarkably, The Origin of Species said very little about, of all things, the origins of species. Darwin and his modern successors have shown very convincingly how inherited variations are naturally selected, but they leave unanswered how variant organisms come to be in the first place.In Symbiotic Planet, renowned scientist Lynn Margulis shows that symbiosis, which simply means members of different species living in physical contact with each other, is crucial to the origins of evolutionary novelty. Ranging from bacteria, the smallest kinds of life, to the largest,the living Earth itself,Margulis explains the symbiotic origins of many of evolution's most important innovations. The very cells we're made of started as symbiotic unions of different kinds of bacteria. Sex,and its inevitable corollary, death,arose when failed attempts at cannibalism resulted in seasonally repeated mergers of some of our tiniest ancestors. Dry land became forested only after symbioses of algae and fungi evolved into plants. Since all living things are bathed by the same waters and atmosphere, all the inhabitants of Earth belong to a symbiotic union. Gaia, the finely tuned largest ecosystem of the Earth's surface, is just symbiosis as seen from space. Along the way, Margulis describes her initiation into the world of science and the early steps in the present revolution in evolutionary biology the importance of species classification for how we think about the living world and the way academic apartheid" can block scientific advancement. Written with enthusiasm and authority, this is a book that could change the way you view our living Earth.

Now published by Academic Press and revised from the author's previous Five Kingdoms Third edition, this extraordinary, all inclusive catalogue of the world's living organisms describes the diversity of the major groups, or phyla, of nature's most inclusive taxa. Developed after consultation with specialists, this modern classification scheme is consistent both with the fossil record and with recent molecular, morphological and metabolic data. Generously illustrated, now in full color, Kingdoms and Domains is remarkably easy to read. It accesses the full range of life forms that still inhabit our planet and logically and explicitly classifies them according to their evolutionary relationships. Definitive characteristics of each phylum are professionally described in ways that, unlike most scientific literature, profoundly respect the needs of educators, students and nature lovers. This work is meant to be of interest to all evolutionists as well as to conservationists, ecologists, genomicists, geographers, microbiologists, museum curators, oceanographers, paleontologists and especially nature lovers whether artists, gardeners or environmental activists.Kingdoms and Domains is a unique and indispensable reference for anyone intrigued by a planetary phenomenon: the spectacular diversity of life, both microscopic and macroscopic, as we know it only on Earth today. New Foreword by Edward O. Wilson The latest concepts of molecular systematics, symbiogenesis, and the evolutionary importance of microbes Newly expanded chapter openings that define each kingdom and place its members in context in geological time and ecological space Definitions of terms in the glossary and throughout the book Ecostrips, illustrations that place organisms in their most likely environments such as deep sea vents, tropical forests, deserts or hot sulfur springs A new table that compares features of the most inclusive taxa Application of a logical, authoritative, inclusive and coherent overall classification scheme based on evolutionary principles

A fascinating and detailed examination of the evolution—and occasional devolution—of sexuality in microorganisms and more complex forms of life. Margulis and Sagan trace sex from its inauspicious beginnings in bacteria threatened by ultraviolet radiation to its intimate relation with the origin of mitotic division of nucleated cells. The origin of meiotic sex through cannibalism followed by centriole reproductive tardiness and the connection of cell symbiosis to sex and differentiation are explored.“The authors have not only given us a new and exiting scenario for the evolution of sex, but have also provided us with critical ways in which we can test their hypotheses. . . . This is a stimulating book that is sure to invoke criticism and discussion; I strongly recommend it.”—Symbiosis“The book is well organized and well written, leading the reader from one thought to another almost effortlessly. Background information is presented to aid those of us who are not experts in this field, and a glossary is appended. The book could be used at all levels of study, from interested undergraduates in general biology though postdoctoral students of genetics and evolution. I recommend this thought-provoking book to you for both your enjoyment and your enlightenment.”—Richard W. Cheney, Jr., Journal of College Science Teaching“This book, undoubtedly controversial, is a thoughtful and original contribution to an important aspect of cellular biology.”—John Langridge

The author of this work is best known for her suggestion that mitochondria and chloroplasts, the energy-producing components of plant and animal cells, originally evolved as separate organisms and then merged with their host cells in a symbiotic union. She is also one of the founders, with James Lovelock, of the Gaia theory, the idea that the entire biosphere is a self-regulating meta-organism. This collection of essays explores the far-reaching implications of symbiosis as an evolutionary force, such as its role in brain development and the questions it poses for the existence of truly "individual" organisms.

How do new species evolve? Although Darwin identified inherited variation as the creative force in evolution, he never formally speculated where it comes from. His successors thought that new species arise from the gradual accumulation of random mutations of DNA. But despite its acceptance in every major textbook, there is no documented instance of it. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan take a radically new approach to this question. They show that speciation events are not, in fact, rare or hard to observe. Genomes are acquired by infection, by feeding, and by other ecological associations, and then inherited. Acquiring Genomes is the first work to integrate and analyze the overwhelming mass of evidence for the role of bacterial and other symbioses in the creation of plant and animal diversity. It provides the most powerful explanation of speciation yet given.

More than eighty years ago, before we knew much about the structure of cells, Russian botanist Boris Kozo-Polyansky brilliantly outlined the concept of symbiogenesis, the symbiotic origin of cells with nuclei. It was a half-century later, only when experimental approaches that Kozo-Polyansky lacked were applied to his hypotheses, that scientists began to accept his view that symbiogenesis could be united with Darwin's concept of natural selection to explain the evolution of life. After decades of neglect, ridicule, and intellectual abuse, Kozo-Polyansky's ideas are now endorsed by virtually all biologists.Kozo-Polyansky's seminal work is presented here for the first time in an outstanding annotated translation, updated with commentaries, references, and modern micrographs of symbiotic phenomena.

This sophisticated coloring book is a beautifully detailed illustration of the world's living diversity. It is written for science students, teachers, and anyone else who is curious about the extraordinary variety of living things that inhabit this planet. It opens with an introduction to the classification systems, distinctions between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, an introduction to life cycles, Earth history, and an explanation of how to best use this coloring book. The next section is organized by communities in which the organisms live. The final section details the variety of major groupings - phyla - within each kingdom and shows how the organisms in each are distinguished from one other. This coloring book gives a visual understanding of the enormous diversity of life on this planet and will be an enlightening and educational resource for students from a variety of backgrounds.

In the 1970s, microbiologist Lynn Margulis and atmospheric chemist James Lovelock developed the Gaia theory. Embracing the circular logic of life and engineering systems, the Gaia theory states that Earth is a self-regulating complex system in which life interacts with and eventually becomes its own environment. Gaia describes a living Earth: a body in the form of a planet.Fusing science, mathematics, philosophy, ecology and mythology, Gaia and Philosophy, with a new introduction by Dorion Sagan, challenges Western anthropocentrism to propose a symbiotic planet. In its striking philosophical conclusion, the revolutionary Gaia paradigm holds important implications not only for understanding life's past but for shaping its future.

This is an edited record of the dialogue of eminent scientists attending the third conference in the series on the Origins of Life, supported by a grant from the Biosciences Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad­ ministration. The first conference at Princeton, 1967, was held under the direction of Dr. Frank Fremont-Smith at the time when the Interdisciplinary Communications Program (ICP) was associated with the New York Academy of Sciences. was integrated into the Office of the Assistant Secretary for In 1968, ICP Science of the Smithsonian Institution, and the entire operation was set up in Washington, D.C. The second conference, also in Princeton, was held in 1968. (See Margulis, ed. 1970 and 1971 for previously published proceed­ ings.) The third conference was held at Santa Ynez, California, Feb. 27 - March I, 1970. The proceedings are recorded and edited by the Interdisciplinary Communi­ cations Associates, Inc. (lCA, a nonprofit foundation), for ICP. Dr. Lynn Margulis, the Scientific Editor of the series, has been assisted by Barbara Miranda. Harriet Eklund is the ICP Staff Editor. ICA was formed to encourage effective interchange and interaction among the various scientific and social disciplines and to aid in the solutions of scien­ tific and social problems. Currently its primary concern is with assisting ICP. M. C. Shelesnyak, Ph.D. Director, Interdisciplinary Communications Program Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.

This is an edited record of the dialogue of eminent scientists attending the fourth conference in the series of the origins of life, supported by a grant from the Biosciences Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Admini­ stration. The first conference at Princeton, 1967, was held under the direc­ tion of Dr. Frank Fremont-Smith at the time when the Interdisciplinary Co m­ munications Program (lCP) was associated with the New York Academy of Sciences. In 1968, ICP was integrated into the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Science of the Smithsonian Institution, and the entire operation was set up in Washington, D. C. The second conference, also in Princeton, was held in 1968 and the third was in Santa Ynez, California in 1970. (See Margulis, ed. 1970, 1971 and 1972 for previously published proceedings.) The fourth conference was held at the Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge, Maryland, April 13-16, 1971. The proceedings are recorded and edited by the Interdisciplinary Com­ munications Associates, Inc. (lCA, a nonprofit foundation), for ICP. Dr. Lynn Margulis, who served as Scientific Editor for the entire series, has succeeded admirably in carrying out a difficult and usually inadequately appreciated task. She was ably assisted in her offices by Barbara Miranda and Harriet Eklund, the ICP Staff Editor for this series. I am grateful to all.