By reading the information stored in the genomes of entire microbial communities, we can begin to measure the pulse of this marine ecosystem. These new DNA sequences from microbial communities will help us paint the picture of how that world works and provide important details on the players involved and their biological properties and activities.

As it turns out if you can measure changes in distance between the two satellites, you can get information about what's underneath and what's causing those changes. And you can get information when you fly over the ice sheet about the mass change of the ice sheet.

Although they're small, these tiny microbial species are the engines of the biosphere, and in large part drive the cycles of matter and energy in the sea.

It's a good way to measure how we're doing. They were dominating everybody they played.

The public has very little access to reliable information if they're not reading the scientific journals. All of the panelists thought it was important to convey with precision the major challenges in the areas of food, water, energy, and health, and I think they did a beautiful job.

Reading widely and getting as much information as possible exposes you to small pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle and even if the information is not 100% clear at the time, by shuffling it around in your mind, ideas eventually come to you. I don't really see myself as an inventor. I do, however, listen to what people say and try to understand the problem and determine whether there's a need.