Microbes constitute the very core of our existence. Long believed to be a nuisance and proponents of various disease, latest research point toward their functions in processes that can prove beneficial for human survival and afford long-term protection from disease. The wide range of functions exhibited by a host of microbes implies diversity and heterogeneity at the level of the molecular machinery, thus stressing the need to take a closer look at the molecular underpinnings that dictate distinct outcomes.