“If an 1890s physicist time-travelled to a physics laboratory today, he would be totally flummoxed. But, if Louis Pasteur were transported to a microbiology laboratory just a few years ago, he very likely would have rolled up his sleeves and gone to work. That’s because, compared to physics labs, not much has changed regarding microbial systematics. Microbial systematics—the identification and characterization of microorganisms—simply had to be modernized,” says Rita Colwell, Ph.D., founder of CosmosID.