This document asks 4 questions about microbial life: 1) whether phototrophy or lithotrophy came first and what they have in common, 2) what the presence of microbes that oxidize and reduce nitrogen and sulfur means for their ecosystem role, 3) the evidence for the endosymbiont theory explaining mitochondria in eukaryotes and if it only happened once, 4) what the Candidate Phyla Radiation story reveals about finding microbes in the environment and searching for extraterrestrial life.