--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The point I want to make about…" description: "\"“The point I want to make about methanogens is that they were the losers in the race through a bottleneck, yet nonetheless survived in niche environmen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/nick-lane-26984_bottleneck_the-point-i-want-to-make-about-methanoge_2464982.jpg" --- # The point I want to make about methanogens is that they… ![“The point I want to make about methanogens is that they were the losers in the race through a bottleneck, yet nonetheless survived in niche environments. Similarly, on a larger scale, it is rare for the loser to disappear completely, or for the latecomers never to gain at least a precarious…” quote by Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/nick-lane-26984_bottleneck_the-point-i-want-to-make-about-methanoge_2464982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/nick-lane-26984_bottleneck_the-point-i-want-to-make-about-methanoge_2464982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/nick-lane-26984_bottleneck_the-point-i-want-to-make-about-methanoge_2464982.jpg) > ““The point I want to make about methanogens is that they were the losers in the race through a bottleneck, yet nonetheless survived in niche environments. Similarly, on a larger scale, it is rare for the loser to disappear completely, or for the latecomers never to gain at least a precarious foothold. The fact that flight had already evolved among birds did not preclude its later evolution in bats, which became the most numerous mammalian species. The evolution of plants did not lead to the disappearance of algae, or indeed the evolution of vascular plants to the disappearance of mosses.”” [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even losers in evolutionary bottlenecks can persist in niche habitats, and later arrivals can establish footholds, showing that extinction is not inevitable and diversity can coexist. **In simple terms:** Losers can survive and later arrivals can thrive in new niches. Key Takeaway Consider resilience and opportunity in competition. Themes evolution resilience competition diversity adaptation Mood inspired optimistic strategic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - conservation - biology researchinnovation - business strategy - personal growth Key Concepts niche survival convergent evolution ecological opportunity Questions to Reflect On - What niches can you exploit where others have failed? - How do you turn a perceived disadvantage into a strength? A Different Perspective Survival of the fittest is not absolute; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bottleneck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottleneck/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) ## Related quotes > [“In what appears to have been an unplanned quip, Wilberforce asked Huxley if he thought he was descended from an ape on his father's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-clements/in-what-appears-to-have-been-an-unplanned-quip-wilberforce-asked/) [Jonathan Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-clements/) > [“Ouch! I feel bitch slapped-- Matt Carter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-larry/ouch-i-feel-bitch-slapped-matt-carter/) [Natasha Larry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-larry/) ## More by Nick Lane > [“establishment. In 1966, the Dutch geologist M. G. Rutten could write, in a charmingly antiquated style that has passed forever from the scientific journals:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/establishment-in-1966-the-dutch-geologist-m-g-rutten-could-write-in-a/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Rather surprisingly, to anyone who is most familiar with textbook mitochondria, many simple single-celled eukaryotes have mitochondria that operate in the absence of oxygen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/rather-surprisingly-to-anyone-who-is-most-familiar-with-textbook/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Pigments such as haemoglobin are coloured because they absorb light of particular colours (bands of light, as in a rainbow) and reflect back light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/pigments-such-as-haemoglobin-are-coloured-because-they-absorb-light/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Energy and life go hand in hand. If you stop breathing, you will not be able to generate the energy you need for staying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/energy-and-life-go-hand-in-hand-if-you-stop-breathing-you-will-not-be/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“In an average person, ATP is produced at a rate of 9 × 1020 molecules per second, which equates to a turnover rate (the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/in-an-average-person-atp-is-produced-at-a-rate-of-9-1020-molecules/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“But whatever our beliefs, this richness of understanding should be a cause for marvel and celebration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/but-whatever-our-beliefs-this-richness-of-understanding-should-be-a/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“and predictions. Science is often presented as ‘the facts’, frequently in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/and-predictions-science-is-often-presented-as-the-facts-frequently-in/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“One mitochondrion contains tens of thousands of copies of each respiratory complex. A single cell contains hundreds or thousands of mitochondria. Your 40 trillion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/one-mitochondrion-contains-tens-of-thousands-of-copies-of-each/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Nothing is more conservative than a bacterium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/nothing-is-more-conservative-than-a-bacterium/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established with some certainty.1 In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydrogenosomes-have-lost-their/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Matters came to a head after 1918, when the French scientist Paul Portier published his rhetorical masterpiece Les Symbiotes. He was nothing if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/matters-came-to-a-head-after-1918-when-the-french-scientist-paul/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Metabolically active cells, such as those of the liver, kidneys, muscles, and brain, have hundreds or thousands of mitochondria, making up some 40 per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/metabolically-active-cells-such-as-those-of-the-liver-kidneys-muscles/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“the igneo-aerial food.” In other words, despite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/the-igneo-aerial-food-in-other-words-despite/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Timmis and colleagues found that chloroplast genes are transferred to the nucleus at a rate of about 1 transfer in every 16 000 seeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/timmis-and-colleagues-found-that-chloroplast-genes-are-transferred-to/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“of oxygen, whether we think of it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, is the formation of free radicals. As conventionally stated, the idea that breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/of-oxygen-whether-we-think-of-it-as-good-or-bad-is-the-formation-of/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) [Explore all 21 Nick Lane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) ## More Bottleneck quotes > [As a company grows, things get stuck at the top. It can be a bottleneck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-johnson/as-a-company-grows-things-get-stuck-at-the-top-it-can-be-a-bottleneck/) [Belinda Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-johnson/) > [Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-be-a-bottleneck-if-a-matter-is-not-a-decision-for-the-president/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [“The entire bottleneck concept is not geared to decrease operating expense, it’s focused on increasing throughput.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliyahu-m-goldratt/the-entire-bottleneck-concept-is-not-geared-to-decrease-operating/) [Eliyahu M. Goldratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliyahu-m-goldratt/) > [To manipulate the immune system, you need to find the key bottlenecks that govern the system. The T-cell is an absolute bottleneck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/to-manipulate-the-immune-system-you-need-to-find-the-key-bottlenecks/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [I say an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour out of the entire system. I say an hour saved at a non-bottleneck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliyahu-m-goldratt/i-say-an-hour-lost-at-a-bottleneck-is-an-hour-out-of-the-entire/) [Eliyahu M. Goldratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliyahu-m-goldratt/) > [The bottleneck wasn't, How do we make pixels prettier? It was, How do we engage with them more?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-han/the-bottleneck-wasn-t-how-do-we-make-pixels-prettier-it-was-how-do-we/) [Jefferson Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-han/) > [“Our minds have a bottleneck in the so-called “working memory” that allows us to keep only a few simple things in them at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-williams/our-minds-have-a-bottleneck-in-the-so-called-working-memory-that/) [Mark Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-williams/) > [“Goldratt taught us that in most plants, there are a very small number of resources, whether it’s men, machines, or materials, that dictates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/goldratt-taught-us-that-in-most-plants-there-are-a-very-small-number/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [If you’re concerned about scalability, any algorithm that forces you to run agreement will eventually become your bottleneck. Take that as a given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-vogels/if-you-re-concerned-about-scalability-any-algorithm-that-forces-you/) [Werner Vogels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-vogels/) > [Nobody taught me to play bottleneck. I just saw it and taught myself. I got an old bottle and steamed the label off, put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/nobody-taught-me-to-play-bottleneck-i-just-saw-it-and-taught-myself-i/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [The whole world is pretending the breakthrough is in technology. The bottleneck is really in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/the-whole-world-is-pretending-the-breakthrough-is-in-technology-the/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Rule 1. You can't tell where a program is going to spend its time. Bottlenecks occur in surprising places, so don't try to second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-pike/rule-1-you-can-t-tell-where-a-program-is-going-to-spend-its-time/) [Rob Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-pike/) > [I stone got crazy when I saw somebody run down them strings with a bottleneck. My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/i-stone-got-crazy-when-i-saw-somebody-run-down-them-strings-with-a/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [The bottleneck is never code or creativity; it's lack of clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-berkun/the-bottleneck-is-never-code-or-creativity-it-s-lack-of-clarity/) [Scott Berkun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-berkun/) > [In most organizations, the bottleneck is at the top of the bottle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/in-most-organizations-the-bottleneck-is-at-the-top-of-the-bottle/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) [Browse all 21 Bottleneck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottleneck/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The point I want to make about methanogens is that they were the losers in the race through a bottleneck, yet nonetheless survived in niche environments. 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