| |||||||||
| |||||||||
SymbiogenesisPresence of the PastConcept Note
Symbiosis is the prolonged physical association of two or more different kinds of organisms. Endosymbiosis involves one life-form actually living inside another, often in a long lasting merger. Symbiogenesis, the source of true evolutionary novelty, occurs when the mergers of independent organisms actually form composites. A totally new kind of being may then evolve.
All life-forms (with the exception of bacteria which
makes them) are consortia. Our cells are the result of millions
of years of mergers, the outcome of once free-living bacteria that came
together in permanent relationships.
We are all chimera, composites of many life-forms and many
mergers. Identity is less an object than a process. We all envelop
traces of bygone beings.
|
Images of Earth from the Moon vibrantly convey the life of the planet. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
|
|
Glossary | Home | Questions or comments, E-mail the Webmaster All contents © Foundation For Global Community |
|
