Biologists Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan to speak Jan. 13 at Centre

RELEASED: Jan. 9, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—Internationally acclaimed biologists Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan gave the 2003 Humana Visiting Scholar lecture on Jan. 13 in Weisiger Theatre.

Their lecture, entitled "Language and Life," focused on the world of biology and literary expression.

Margulis and Sagan are currently teaching a course at Centre during CentreTerm.

Margulis, Distinguished University Professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, is likely to quote Emily Dickinson when describing her ground-breaking work on evolutionary symbiosis. She's best known for developing the theory of endosymbiosis, the concept that cells with nuclei evolved through a symbolic relationship with other cell types. Her theory at first was considered radical but today her idea is discussed in most college introductory biology textbooks.

Sagan is the son of Margulis and the late Carl Sagan (1934-96), a world-famous astronomer. The younger Sagan is an award-winning science writer and poet who has collaborated with several authors, including his mother, on a number of critically acclaimed books.

Together they wrote Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origin of Species, published last year.

Margulis is dedicated to laboratory, scholarly and field studies. From 1966-88 she was a member of the biology department at Boston University. President Clinton awarded her a National Medal of Science in 2000. The next year she received the Commonwealth Award for Interpretive Scientist from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. In addition, she has chaired the National Academy of Science's Space Science Board Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution to aid in developing research strategies for NASA.

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