Lynn+Margulis

By: Becca Lynn Margulis

Occupation She was a biologist. Biology is the work that studies life and living organisms. Some of the other things studied in the field of biology are structure, growth, function and evolution. Birth Lynn Margulis was born on August fifth 1938. Death She died on November 22nd 2011 in Amherst Mass. Place of Birth Lynn Margulis was born in Chicago, Illinois. Known for She is known for her theory about evolution through cells. She stated that multicellular things evolved from single celled items. She was also known for her contributions to the Endosymbiotic theory and her theory on the origin of eukaryotic cells. One of her more recent theories is the Gaia theory.

Science Explained The Endosymbiotic theory states that the key organelles (the cells that are usually coated in a thin layer of lipid bilayer) of eukaryotes (an organism that has cells that contain a nucleus and membrane) originated as a symbiosis relationship. Symbioses is a close relationship between too things. Her theory about the origin of eukaryotic cells is quite similar to her contributions to a lot of her other work. Eukaryotic cells are organisms that cells contain a nucleus and a membrane. The Gaia theory is the theory that world as a whole is alive.

Career She was a biologist and a professor who taught botany. Throughout her career Dr. Margulis was always questioning things that had already been established as facts. Her persistent questioning changed many things that were already thought to be true. In the 1960s she began her studies of cells.

Did you know? Lynn Margulis was the oldest child of four girls; she married twice and divorced twice. One of her more recent theories before she died was the Gaia theory. Much of her work was done with scientist James Lovelock who is currently living in England.

References

Bailey, Martha J. American Women in Science, 1950 to the present. Santa Barbara: CA ABCCLIO, 1998. Print. Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography, © RM, 2013, all rights reserved, as published under license in AccessScience, The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology Online, http://www.accessscience.com, © McGraw-Hill Education, 2000-2013. Helicon Publishing is a division of RM. "Lynn Margulis." Britannica School. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 18 Sep. 2013. .

Sagan, Dorion. Lynn Margulis the Life and Legacy of a Scientific Rebel. White River Junction Vermont: Chelsea Green, 2012. Print Walker, David H. and Vsevolod Popov. “Endosymbiosis: Lynn Margulis.” Understanding Science. Understanding Science, August 22 2008. Web. 9/19/13 Wikipedia. “Eukaryotic cells. Wikipedia, Sep 18 2013. Web. Sep 10 2013 Wikipedia.” Lynn Margulis.” Wikipedia, Sep 13 2013. Web. Sep 14 2013