Microscopic brothers of man
Biology teaches that cells are the basic unit of life. The human being is made of cells, all human organs are made of cells. But not all cells are the same. Bacteria are simple cells (a bacterium is actually a single simple cell) and those that humans and all complex living beings have are complex cells. But, according to one theory, complex cells are the result of a union of simple cells.
This theory was proposed and developed by one of the authors of this book, the American biologist Lynn Margulis. The mitochondria of human cells, for example, was once an independent bacterium that began to live in symbiosis with two other bacteria and eventually formed a complex structure.
It is the very history of evolution. And this process continues to happen. Some bacteria are not yet integrated with others, so they have not created new cells, but they are essential for complex living beings such as those living in the human intestine or in the herbivore digestive system. Therefore, a complex organism like you and me is a large community of bacteria and cells. They live in symbiosis and thanks to it the organism survives. And the human brain itself can be understood as the result of a set of millions of bacteria that have lived in symbiosis, according to Margulis and Sagan.
These bacteria form the microcosm and is the title of the book.
From this point of view, each human being (for example) is not a single living being, but a large community of many living beings. This community contains bacteria and cells generated by bacteria throughout evolution. In short, bacteria are inventors of the chemical systems that life needs, according to Margulis and Sagan. And these systems have not changed throughout evolution.
The book is written from this perspective. Taking the subject of microorganisms, both authors make a journey through evolution. From the birth of life to the conquest of space, where man has sent bacteria off Earth.
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