One plus one equals one : symbiosis and the evolution of complex life It is natural to look at biotechnology in the 21st century with a mix of wonder and fear. But biotechnology is not as unnatural as one might think. All living organisms use the same molecular processes to replicate their genetic material and the same basic code to read their genes. The similarities can be seen in their DNA. Here John Archibald shows how evolution has been plugging and playing with the subcellular components of life from the very beginning and continues to do so today. For evidence we need look no further than the inner workings of our own cells. Molecular biology has allowed us to gaze back more than three billion years revealing the microbial mergers and acquisitions that underpin the development of complex life. One Plus One Equals One tells the story of how we have come to this realization and its implications.