They help cure disease, prevent famine and clean up the world's most polluted areas. In the past few years, millions of people have been dazzled by the images of outer space captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, but few know that a similar visual revolution has been taking place in the world of the very small. Every individual human being is the center of a vast ecosystem that supports billions of inhabitants. As scientists map the human genome, they find the ancient DNA of microbes at the root of the family tree. This episode follows the quest of scientists to understand how all human life on Earth is related.
Microbes drive the chemistry of life.
They affect the global climate. They do most of the recycling that keeps the world habitable. This episode follows scientists who are exploring man's reliance on these microscopic organisms. This episode focuses on scientists who delve into this most personal relationship with the invisible world. In the 21st century, human beings will have to reclaim the damaged environment while feeding a growing population.