From meteor to microscopes

Tyrannosaurus rex is the most famous dinosaur of all time. Thanks to Jurassic Park, it became an icon—but there’s a small problem: T. rex didn’t even live during the Jurassic period! In fact, most of the dinosaurs from the movie actually belonged to the Cretaceous. The Cretaceous marks the end of an era and the extinction of most dinosaurs, but what about the Jurassic? What happened during this time, and why is it also important to study? To find out, we will travel back 183 million years and journey to Patagonia (Argentina).

Microbiomes are a crucial component of the “Planetary Health” concept, playing an important role in the functioning of ecosystems and fulfilling key functions that support the health of the planet. Microbiomes also interact with almost all higher eukaryotes, like animals, plants and humans, and fulfill important tasks for the hosts’ health. Although we are gradually understanding that microbiomes interact with each other in different ecosystems, there is still little understanding of how microbiomes from different environments influence each other and our health.