A distinguished microbiologist explains the importance of the symbiosis - where different organisms contribute to each other's support - and how this is changing our view of life on Earth. Lynn Margulis is an ardent supporter of the Gaia hypothesis: the idea that due to the finely balanced interdependence of all life forms, the planet functions as a single , giant cell. Margulis argues that no organism is an island and that all are linked to each other. The Symbiotic Planet traces the evolution of planet earth from the origins of life and of sex to the emergence of 'hyperseas' and eerie future she describes for humanity.

About the Author

Lynn Margulis, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1983. She has been described by E. O. Wilson as 'one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology'. She is best known for her pathbreaking work on the bacterial origins of cell organelles and for her collaboration with James Lovelock on Gaia theory. Her previous books include Symbiosis in Cell Evolution; Five Kingdoms (with K. V. Schwartz); and (with Dorian Sagan) The Origins of Sex, The Garden of Microbial Delights, What is Life?, What is Sex?, and Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis and Evolution.

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