Christopher Haley (t.page at ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: Hello all,
: I am currently writing a paper for school on some of the killer
: viruses. I have heard about something called "GAYA OR GIA OR MABE GAEA"
: theorism. I'm obviously not sure of the spelling, however the gist of
: it is that when the world becomes over populated or over taxed it will
: essentilly fight back. Through viruses or what ever other means
: necessary. If any of this rings a bell with anyone, please post the
: correct spelling of it and maybe a source of info.
Gaia. After the Greek god of the Earth. Do a search in a library
catalog for Lovelock and/or Margulies, who are the most prominent
proponents of this theory (I believe they did a book together).
A slightly less anthropomorphic description of the theory is that
natural processes on the Earth maintain homeostasis (constant state).
Since homeostasis is a property of living organisms, the theory is
often described as treating the entire planet as a (colonial) living
organism.
Good luck!
Keith Robison
Harvard University
Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology
Department of Genetics / HHMI
robison at mito.harvard.edu
