This book takes readers into the latest discoveries about early microbial life, where findings from the earth's furthest extremes are seeking to reshape the future of our planet and ourselves. As scientists take the next step in applying the lessons of popular and controversial research, the world's tiniest, and sometimes most dangerous, microorganisms are being tapped as allies in achieving better health and sustainable energy, while revealing fundamental clues to the mystery of where we came from. --Provided by publisher

Introduction --

Part One.

Out of the air : searching for life's origin.

1.

Lightning in the lab ;

2.

Instigator ;

3.

In the hot vents with RNA ;

4.

Return of the ancient ones ;

5.

Shooting stars --

Part Two.

Turning the tide : seeking better health.

6.

Killer membranes : the labs where life is made ;

7.

Relics of the deep : future from the past ;

8.

In the garden : microbes, power, and health ;

9.

Lost city : at the alkaline seeps ;

10.

Moonlight : symbiosis, the squid, and a new science --

Part Three.

Microbes and money : a sustainable future.

11.

A universe within : the new microbial medicine ;

12.

Martian chronicles : killer microbes from outer space ;

13.

Sustainability : toward a microbe economy ;

14.

A river runs through it : the hope and hype of microbes