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At 1:49 pm -0400 24/10/02, Bill Chaisson wrote: >Prof. Knoll is a good example of a geoscientist interested in 'early >Earth' questions. If you have a historical bent, then it is to the >early events that geobiology devotes its attention. But if you have >an ahistorical bent (i.e. you are a geochemist), then there is a lot >more for you to do in geobiology because the systems that came >together in the Archaean and Proterozoic are presumably still >operating pretty much the same way. And if they aren't, well that's >interesting too, but it is still an ahistorical question. Certainly most (all?) of geobiology has been pursued as though history does not matter. However, most of the work in contemporary systematics has shown time and time again how important history (= phylogeny) is to the understanding of all biological systems (e.g., see the burgeoning literature on 'comparative method' topics). Moreover, tracing the phylogeny of protists, bacteria, and other minute beasties--or, more accurately, the phylogeny of their constituent parts--is one of the most active and intriguing areas of systematics just now. Therefore, while I agree with Bill's sentiment, I'd be surprised if geobiology (with na capital B) turned out to be able to be understood in a completely ahistorical context. Norm MacLeod -- ___________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Norman MacLeod Keeper of Palaeontology The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD (0)20-7942-5204 (Office) (0)20-7942-5546 (Fax) N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (e-mail) Web Page: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/palaeontology/a&ss/nm/nm.html NHM Palaeo. Dept. BURP Update: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/palaeontology/burp.html ___________________________________________________________________________
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