From one of the great iconoclasts of modern biology, an original, accessible work that sets out, for lay and scientific readers alike, a new theory of how species begin. In this groundbreaking book, Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan present an answer to one of the enduring mysteries of evolution--the source of inherited variation that gives rise to new species. Random genetic mutation, long believed to be the main source of variation, is only a marginal factor. As the authors demonstrate in this book, the more important source of speciation, by far, is the acquisition of new genomes by symbiotic merger. The result of thirty years of delving into a vast, mostly arcane literature, this is the first book to go beyond--and reveal the severe limitations of--the "Modern Synthesis" that has dominated evolutionary biology for almost three generations. Lynn Margulis, whom E. O. Wilson called "one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology," and her co-author Dorion Sagan have written a comprehensive and scientifically supported presentation of a theory that directly challenges the assumptions we hold about the variety of the living world.
- ISBN10 0786722606
- ISBN13 9780786722600
- Publish Date 1 August 2008 (first published 19 June 2002)
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Basic Books
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 256
- Language English