Disregarding the dead stars that forged our parts, our most ancient ancestors are microbial. Deep within the primordial soup of a hostile history, bacteria birthed Earth’s first breath and set the stage for the oxygen-rich environment we’ve been blessed with. As those cells began to multiply, they became the fungi, plants, and animals of the world. They became us.

Our ancestors are still with us today. They are the lichen on the trees and the algae in the sea and they make up most of the cells in our bodies. However, in our attempts to escape nature, we have forgotten our origins. We have sprayed the weeds off our estranged family tree and declared war on our roots.

In the belly of our safe, sanitary civilization, we are manufacturing microbial monsters.

To be fair, not all bacteria are benevolent. The almighty microbes giveth and taketh away, with seemingly random measure. They have always decided the dance of life and death. It was us who decided to defy our own decay.

Medicine is the story of our age-old battle with these invisible forces of nature. It began with plants that healed wounds before the invisible forces of nature claimed the flesh as sacrifice. As we persisted with our existential rebellion, we became more clever.

We realized that sickness spread through our water, so we built sewer systems. We learned that it also spread through our blood, so we developed vaccinations. These innovations have raised the quality of life for humanity in dramatic ways, lifting us above the food chain. Nevertheless, nature still nips at our neck, and there are lessons we have yet to learn.

In the belly of our safe, sanitary civilization, we are manufacturing microbial monsters.