Intelligences of Nature: Microbiology

The living Earth is fundamentally sustained by symbiotic relationships between micro-organisms. All life evolved from single-cell organisms nearly four billion years ago. Today life remains dependent upon the relationships between microscopic beings—cells, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, slime mold, archaea, and viruses. For example, your body is just as much a community of autonomous cells as it is a single whole. Billions of bacteria in the gut biome communicate using a chemical language while keeping you alive. This section contains resources which help us to better understand how the macro- and micro-cosmos are intrinsically linked.