You are the science reporter for your local newspaper. Your editor asks you to write an article on a major topic within the general field of microbiology. He stipulates that in this article you need to include the following three things:
1) An historical timeline for the major scientific discoveries that has led to our current understanding of the topic.
2) A summary of our current understanding of the topic.
3) A projection of where the next major advance or breakthrough in your topic will come from.