Forget space – the unknown worlds in pond scum are rich with life’s secrets

During the 1970s, Elizabeth Blackburn discovered something fundamentally important about life, uncovering the function of telomeres, which cap strands of DNA and protect chromosomes. She would go on to earn a Nobel Prize for her work in 2009. In this sprightly animated video from Nature, Blackburn recounts how a love of all living creatures – and especially the frequently overlooked, microscopic ones – inspired her curiosity and her work.