Since the earliest recorded history, philosophers, scientists, and others have described an interplay between life and Earth's environment. The Gaia hypothesis draws on this concept but incorporates modern scientific disciplines such as microbiology, geology, and atmospheric chemistry. The name Gaia is drawn from Greek mythology and means Mother Earth.

James Lovelock, an atmospheric chemist, and Lynn Margulis, a microbiologist, published their first paper on the Gaia hypothesis in the early 1970s. Their hypothesis stated that the biota, which consists of all living organisms, maintain an environment on Earth that is optimal for life. This environment features an atmosphere that has a stable temperature and chemical composition. Because these factors stay within certain limits, other factors such as the climate and the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth's surface are also relatively stable. The Gaia hypothesis was later refined to emphasize that the...