Ocean Science: The power of plankton

The ocean is teeming with organisms so small you can't see them, populations of microorganisms called phytoplankton. Tiny they may be, but over recent decades these microscopic plant-like organisms have been shown to help drive the global carbon cycle. Further research by marine biologists is steadily revealing the important role of microorganisms and their genes, and raising new questions about how they evolved. Can we use this knowledge to help us restore balanced carbon cycling?