Marine biology is concerned with the biology of sea creatures. It is just as broad and important to society as the biology of land creatures; as the earth is composed mostly of water, approximately 70 percent! The sea and its creatures are a vital source of food and medicine. The microscopic sea plant plankton lies at the very heart of the food chain that sustains all life. Without plankton we'd all eventually die of starvation. The study of marine biology gives us a chance to appreciate the importance of preserving and taking care of one earth's most precious natural resource: our water. Also, marine biology helps us understand weather patterns and temperatures, chemistry, the ecology of marine life (the study of environmental interactions), the history of various organisms, and even physics!

In order to study and preserve the balance between all these inter-related life forms, scientists use microbiology. Microbiology is the study of teeny, tiny microscopic organisms. How tiny? Try tinier than a dust particle, unseen by the unaided eye. The biology of microscopic organisms is crucial to helping scientists work on issues with viruses and bacteria, keep ecosystems in balance, develop medicines, protect our food supply, and beyond. Microbiology also allows us to look at history through the scientific lens of the microscope telling the story of how living organisms have evolved.