Microbes That Shaped Our World

Our planet belongs to microbes, that is, organisms too small to be seen with the unaided human eye. They include Archaea, bacteria, microalgae, protozoa, fungi and viruses. Until Van Leeuwenhoek’s first microscopic observations in 1674, humans were completely unaware of their existence. It has taken until the advent of electron microscopes in the 1930s and notably advances in DNA sequencing in the 2000s to fully understand who they are, where they come from, and what they are doing. This book takes us on a voyage of discovery from the first cyanobacteria and algae that created an oxygen atmosphere, through protozoan malaria parasites that affected the human genome, to the fungi that delivered us antibiotics, beer and wine, and bacterial (cholera, pest) and viral diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza, COVID) that shaped human civilisation. Most microbes are beneficial to us. Treating them as our enemy with agricultural biocides, household disinfectants, overprescription of antibiotics and vaccines does no longer serve us on this overcrowded planet. We no longer need to fear microbes because we cannot see them. To date we can readily identify who they are, elucidate their geographic or animal host origin, vectors of spreading, interactions with our immune system, role in terrestrial and aquatic environments, as well as the global climate system. We need to live in symbiosis with them, rather than be at war. Let’s learn from them while we still can!