ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Carl Woese

Carl Woese was a very smart man who lived a long time ago and studied tiny things called bacteria. Bacteria are like teeny tiny living creatures that are so small most people can't see them without a microscope.

Carl Woese was so interested in these tiny creatures that he started to study their DNA. You know how our bodies have DNA, which is like tiny instructions that tell our bodies how to grow and work properly? Well, bacteria also have DNA which tells them how to grow and stay healthy.

Carl Woese found out that there were different types of bacteria, and some of these types were so different from the others that he thought they might be a completely different group of living things. He called these different living things Archaea, and they were very different from the other types of bacteria.

Carl Woese was really important because he discovered all of these different types of bacteria. He helped us understand that life on Earth is a lot more diverse and complicated than we originally thought. He was kind of like a detective, studying the DNA of tiny living things and making amazing discoveries.