Microbes are the hidden custodians of Earth: controlling the biosphere, removing our waste and affecting our lives in countless ways. Microbial diseases have cut swathes through human populations, yet microbes also drive socioeconomic development, and more benign hitchhikers have left a genetic trail on perilous journeys taken thousands of years ago. Microbiologists from Queens University’s School of Biological Sciences will join Dr Adam Rutherford to discuss how microbes change our world. 

Adam has presented award winning programmes for the BBC including the flagship programs Inside Science, The Cell and Horizon. His book, Creation, on the origin of life and synthetic biology, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust prize. His latest bestseller is A Brief History of Everyone Who Has Ever Lived.