Life’s Engines: How Microbes Made Earth Habitable

Paul Falkowski, Distinguished Professor, Bennett L. Smith Chair in Business and Natural Resources, Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University
For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. Over time, they transformed the chemistry of our planet, making it habitable for plants, animals, and humans. Paul Falkowski will discuss how microbes made life on Earth possible-and how human life would cease without them today. By examining the inner workings of these miniature “engines” and the processes by which they are built and assembled-like building blocks- within every creature that walks, swims, or flies, he will reveal how microbes are the great stewards of life on Earth.
Evolution Matters Lecture Series
Series supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit
Recorded 4/3/18