Microbes are found in the most extreme environments imaginable: inside nuclear reactors, below Antarctic ice, in waters boiling above 2000ºF and even in space. Scientists study these and other microbes with the hope of understanding the beginning of life and its evolution.

Advanced technologies like computers and electron microscopes allow us to observe and change the behavior and structure of the microbes that cause disease. These advances have produced new vaccines, medicines and other therapies that have proven to be powerful weapons in our constant struggle against disease.

The interaction between people and microbes is an essential, never ending process.