How Bacteria Were Observed in the 1670s

Vox and science writer Ed Yong explain how Antonie van Leeuwenhoek built his own microscopes and first observed bacteria in the 1670s. The discovery led to a better understanding of the world and the tiny organisms that helped shape it.

Humans will probably always underappreciate the microorganisms that live inside us and all around us, but the truth is that we live in their world. Not only did our evolution depend on an environment that microbes created, but microbes continue to influence our health in countless ways.