Microbes with superpower

When we think about “life on Earth,” we instantly jump to dinosaurs, tigers, humans, forests, oceans…

But the real founders, engineers, and day-one hustlers of our planet?

Microbes.

They were here billions of years before anything with legs, fur, feathers, or a functioning brain appeared.

And here’s the twist:

Even today, life would collapse in days without them.

🦠 What Exactly Are Microbes? (The Scientific but-Smooth Version)

Microbes or microorganisms are microscopic life forms, usually single-celled, found literally everywhere:

soil, oceans, volcanic vents, your skin, your gut, your phone screen, your pillow, air… You name it.

They include several major groups:

1) Bacteria

Single-celled prokaryotes.

Some cause disease, some make vitamins, some fix nitrogen, some produce oxygen.

Most are harmless; some are heroes; a few are villains.

2) Archaea

Often forgotten, but super important.

They look like bacteria but are genetically very different.

They survive in extreme places, boiling springs, acidic lakes, and salty oceans.

Basically, the “don’t mess with me” microbes.

3) Fungi (microscopic types)

Yeasts, molds.

Masters of decomposition.

Great with carbohydrates (which is why bread rises).

4) Protozoa

Animal-like single-celled organisms.

They move, they hunt smaller microbes, they have drama.

Some cause diseases; others keep ecosystems stable.

5) Microscopic Algae

Tiny photosynthetic organisms in freshwater and oceans.

They produce a massive portion of the oxygen we breathe.

6) Viruses

Not exactly “living,” but absolutely part of the microbial world.

Hijack host cells to replicate — the ultimate freeloaders.

Together, microbes form the foundation of all biological systems on Earth.

🌍 Microbes Didn’t Just Arrive First, They Built the Planet

Here comes the big scientific truth:

Without microbes, Earth would still be a lifeless rock floating through space.

⚡ The Great Oxygen Revolution (2.4 billion years ago)

Cyanobacteria — tiny blue-green microbes — invented photosynthesis.

Not the plant version.

The original version.

They released oxygen as a by-product, slowly transforming the Earth’s atmosphere from toxic to breathable.

Because of microbes → oxygen formed → complex life evolved.

Plants, animals, humans — all thanks to them.

🌱 Microbes Keep Earth’s Ecosystems Alive

Think of microbes as the gears inside a massive biological machine.

You don’t see them, but nothing moves without them.

1) Nitrogen Fixation: Feeding the Entire Food Chain

Plants cannot use nitrogen gas (N₂) even though it makes up 78% of our atmosphere.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert it into ammonia, which plants desperately need.

No bacteria = no plants

→ no herbivores

→ no carnivores

→ no humans

Microbes literally feed the world.

2) Decomposition: Nature’s Cleanup Crew

When organisms die, microbes break everything down:

• returning nutrients to soil

• cleaning up waste

• keeping ecosystems from collapsing into garbage piles

If microbes stopped decomposing?

Earth would become unlivable within months.

3) Photosynthesis in the Ocean

Microscopic algae (phytoplankton) perform photosynthesis and produce at least 50% of the oxygen you inhale right now.

They sit quietly at the bottom of the food chain, but everything above depends on them.

🔬 Microbes Don’t Just Shape Earth… They Shape Life

Microbes influenced evolutionary pathways, atmospheric chemistry, climate patterns, soil formation — everything.

Even now, microbes live inside every human:

• digesting food

• training the immune system

• producing vitamins

• fighting harmful bacteria

You don’t just “have” microbes.

You are an ecosystem made of microbes.

But this world within us deserves its own spotlight

See you soon with a new blog post 🥳

Source -  National Institutes of Health (NIH) — “What Are Microbes?”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234676/

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Microbiology Overviewhttps://www.cdc.gov/microbiology/index.html

3. Microbiology Society — Introduction to Microbeshttps://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology.html

4. NASA Astrobiology — Microbes & Early Earthhttps://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/microbes-and-the-early-earth/

5. NOAA Ocean Service — Phytoplankton & Oxygen Productionhttps://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/phyto.html