Lynn Margulis (1938-2011), was an important American biologist, who created the theory of endosymbiosis and who, together with James Lovelock, developed the controversial hypothesis of Gaia. These are some of his most suggestive phrases, some of them loaded with controversy.
"Darwin's great vision was not wrong, just incomplete."
"I do not know very well if life is a matter wrapped in energy or if it is energy wrapped in a soup of matter."
"The planet was here long before us and it will be here after us. The planet is doing well. What we are concerned about is saving ourselves and saving the lifestyle of the middle class."
"Life is a symbiotic and cooperative union that allows those who associate to succeed".
"The body of the animal evolves not only in response to external pressures from the environment, but also to adapt to the sexual preferences of the opposite sex."
"The language of evolution sometimes seems to obscure rather than illuminate."
"Life precedes reproduction. There are DNA molecules that can reproduce and have no life at all. Life is much more than that."
"The first cell fusion, a precursor to fertilization, could have been a consequence of cannibalism: one microorganism ate another without digesting it."
