This beautiful article in the New Yor Times () describes how we are finally realizing that microbes transform and sculpt the planet.
The article describes how 2.5 billion years ago cyanobacteria produced oxygen to create the atmosphere and the blue colour of the sky, and how microbes have been living, isolated for billions of years, deep below the surface of the planet, breaking rocks instead of oxygen and turning rocks into soil.
Overall the article shows that we need to rethink how the planet works and the role of microbes in keeping the planet alive.
