All of these endeavours were propelled by curiosity, awe, and the exhilaration of exploration. It was the unquenchable, voracious urge to know more about nature and our place in it that drove van Leeuwenhoek to peer at some water through his magnificent hand-crafted microscopes, and open up a world that no one knew existed. And that same urge – that spirit of discovery – is very much alive today.
