A completely reworked and modernized Microbial Ecology Chapter has been published today. Recent advances in DNA isolation and sequencing have made it possible to investigate the microbes present without culturing them. This has completely changed our understanding of the microbial population that is present in the environment and what they are doing. Finally, a clear picture of the environment at the microscopic level is emerging and in the years to come we will learn how it all fits together. It’s an exciting time to be a microbiologist.