Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“Microbes outnumber the stars in the galaxy. In the ocean, they produce roughly half of the oxygen on Earth. On land, microbes are no less essential, cycling carbon & nutrients & forming the soil crusts that prevent deserts from eroding. Even the air is thick with microbes, which are believed to shape cloud formation & precipitation. Despite being practically imperceptible, microbes play an outsize role in every way,” Moira Donovan writes.
“Many of the planet’s microbiomes, however, are under serious threat, with untold numbers of species & ecosystems flickering silently out of existence.
Despite this, conservationists have largely failed to recognize the urgency of protecting microbes. There is no Red List to track the decline of microbial species, no microbial frozen zoos, no microbes adorning heart-stirring billboards.
The exact consequences of microbial biodiversity loss are still unclear. Yet as the primary microbes that produce oxygen in the ocean decline in warming waters & gut bacteria disappear — potentially fueling everything from a rise in autoimmune diseases to an alteration of the ocean’s carbon cycle — scientists say we’re risking irreversible changes to the planet’s unseen life-support system.”
Head to the link in our bio to see how microbiologists are working to save all the life we cannot see.
🎨: Julia Kirby, Soonhee Moon and Tal Danino for Noema Magazine. Some of the bacteria pictured here were grown from pond, rain and other water samples.
#microbes #microbiome #conservation #environment
“Microbes outnumber the stars in the galaxy. In the ocean, they produce roughly half of the oxygen on Earth. On land, microbes are no less essential, cycling carbon & nutrients & forming the soil crusts that prevent deserts from eroding. Even the air is thick with microbes, which are believed to shape cloud formation & precipitation. Despite being practically imperceptible, microbes play an outsize role in every way,” Moira Donovan writes.
“Many of the planet’s microbiomes, however, are under serious threat, with untold numbers of species & ecosystems flickering silently out of existence.
Despite this, conservationists have largely failed to recognize the urgency of protecting microbes. There is no Red List to track the decline of microbial species, no microbial frozen zoos, no microbes adorning heart-stirring billboards.
The exact consequences of microbial biodiversity loss are still unclear. Yet as the primary microbes that produce oxygen in the ocean decline in warming waters & gut bacteria disappear — potentially fueling everything from a rise in autoimmune diseases to an alteration of the ocean’s carbon cycle — scientists say we’re risking irreversible changes to the planet’s unseen life-support system.”
Head to the link in our bio to see how microbiologists are working to save all the life we cannot see.
🎨: Julia Kirby, Soonhee Moon and Tal Danino for Noema Magazine. Some of the bacteria pictured here were grown from pond, rain and other water samples.
#microbes #microbiome #conservation #environment
