We are thrilled to announce that the proposal “Balance of the Microverse” has been selected as a cluster of excellence by the Excellence Commission, consisting of the members of the international Committee of Experts and the research ministers of the federal and state governments of Germany. Group leader Prof. Christoph Steinbeck is one of the principle investigators of the proposal. The cluster will be funded with 50 mio Euros over 7 years. The mission of the Balance of the Microverse Cluster is to understand microbial balance from the molecular to the ecosystem level and to develop detection and manipulation technologies to create beneficial impact.