UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. — At 6 p.m. Thursday, March 2, Penn State’s Microbiome Center will present "The Invisible Extinction" — a movie that spotlights the trailblazing work and charismatic personalities of renowned scientists who aim to save the vanishing microbes that are essential for our survival.

The film joins Rutgers microbiologist Martin Blaser and his partner in the lab and in life, Gloria Dominguez-Bello, as they endeavor on an urgent quest from the United States to Venezuela, China, Israel and Switzerland, showing moviegoers how the overuse of antibiotics, elective C-sections, and processed foods are driving the destruction of our inner gut ecology, which is happening even faster than climate change.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Blaser pivoted to focus on how our microbes may help protect us from the virus and future pandemics, while Dominguez-Bello spearheaded the creation of an international microbe vault to safeguard precious bugs that may help cure chronic illnesses.

The 90-minute movie will be followed by a question-and-answer session with distinguished microbiome scientists, including Laura Weyrich, Emily Davenport, Jordan Bisanz, and Seth Bordenstein from the Penn State Microbiome Center. The center is one of the largest and most active units in the field with groundbreaking research and education in human, agricultural and environmental health. With approximately 500 members, this community of world-class faculty, staff, students and external partners expose a microbial world astonishing in its universality, diversity and applications.

Registration is now open at the State Theatre website and the public is invited to submit questions in advance for the panelists.