Missing Microbes summary

Imagine 3.7 billion years of evolution mapped out as a single day. As you watch the evolutionary clock tick, you’ll notice that microbes were there from the very first seconds; our human ancestors arrived somewhere between 47 and 96 seconds before midnight. And we, Homo sapiens, appeared only two seconds before the end of that 24-hour period!

Microbes have been around for billions of years, and without them there probably wouldn’t be any life on Earth. In fact, for around three billion years bacteria were the only living things on the planet. They are responsible for the chemical reactions that eventually created the biosphere – the global sum of ecosystems that we and all other multicellular life depend on for survival.

Try to imagine some creatures capable of eradicating our early ancestors. What comes to mind? Fierce saber-toothed tigers? Ravenous wolves? Gargantuan bears? Wrong, wrong and wrong. You need to think a lot smaller!

For centuries, there was no greater threat to humanity than pathogenic – that is, disease-causing – bacteria. But it wasn’t always that way.

Antibiotics are real lifesavers, and chances are quite high that you know someone who probably would have died without them.

Indeed, the development of antibiotics is one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the twentieth century. Without these medicines, countless people would have died from illnesses that today seem trivial.

Here’s a harrowing thought: antibiotics aren’t nearly as safe as pharmaceutical companies would have you believe.

Though antibiotics are effective at attacking and killing dangerous bacteria, they do the same to the bacteria in your gut, leading to unintended and even dangerous changes in your microbiome.

Some people take antibiotics way more than is actually necessary. If you value your health, you should take care not to follow their example.

In fact, being sure to take antibiotics only when absolutely necessary is a great way to reduce your exposure to the dangers they pose to your body.