One of the biggest puzzles concerning galaxy evolution and baryonic physics on scales of hundreds of kilo-parsec is the mechanism by which galaxies can accrete gas to fuel the ongoing star-formation in their disks.

In this talk I will show that physical processes involving interstellar and intergalactic dust are expected to play a major role in regulating the accumulation of baryons in galaxies and their condensation into stars. All this requires a quantitative analysis of the interaction between dust, gas, radiation and cosmic rays.

Here I will review progress in the modelling of some of these processes in our attempt to lift the dust from our view of galaxies and lift the veil on galaxy evolution.