Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will discuss the acquisition of genomes in the origin of species during a Voices of Discovery lecture at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 11 in McCrary Theatre, located in the Center for the Arts on the Elon University campus. Her presentation is free and open to the public.
Margulis’ research is at the heart of answers to questions about the evolution of species and the genetic variation in living organisms. Once considered unconventional, her answers to these questions are routinely described in biology textbooks today.
Her serial endosymbiosis theory concludes that the cells of animals and plants evolved from ancient symbiotic unions that have successfully met the demands of life for more than a billion years.
In her recent book, “Acquiring Genomes,” Margulis challenges the assumptions that scientists have made about the mechanisms of evolution. Her theory of the origin of species holds that new species arise by symbiotic merger of genomes rather than by random mutation.
Margulis earned a doctorate in genetics from the University of California at Berkeley. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences of the United States in 1983 and is a fellow at the World Academy of Art and Science, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Voices of Discovery science speaker series, sponsored by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, invites noted scholars in science and mathematics to Elon to share their knowledge and experience with students.
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