Bonnie Bassler
Bonnie Bassler
Bonnie Lynn Bassler is an American molecular biologist. She has been a professor at Princeton University since 1994. In 2002, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
CountryUnited States of America
bacteria easiest either people study understand
I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make the bacteria either deaf or mute, we could create new antibiotics.
You live in intimate association with bacteria, and you couldn't survive without them.
afraid bacteria deaf easiest either people study understand
We've all been sick; we're all afraid of infection. I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make the bacteria either deaf or mute, we could create new antibiotics.
cells human
By weight, you are more human than bacteria, because your cells are bigger, but by numbers, it's not even close.
adapt bacteria came change face imagined nobody problem resistance
When antibiotics first came out, nobody could have imagined we'd have the resistance problem we face today. We didn't give bacteria credit for being able to change and adapt so fast.
came collective originally perform
Think about multicellularity on this Earth. Every living thing originally came from bacteria. So, who do you think made up the rules for how to perform collective behaviors? It had to be the bacteria.
huge sports
I was a huge athlete as a kid. I was on every sports team.
bacteria great surprise
What's great about bacteria is you have a surprise every day waiting for you because they're so fast, they grow overnight.
mostly
We mostly don't get sick. Most often, bacteria are keeping us well.
believing days glorious hours indeed matter science
Science is difficult and slow no matter who you are. The hours are long, and the glorious 'aha' days come only very infrequently. You have to keep believing that if you put in the hours, those days will indeed come!
albert einstein gogh van
So, okay, I'm not a genius. Vincent Van Gogh and Albert Einstein were geniuses.
burst dad obvious point private sister thoughts win won
I called up and said, 'Dad, I won a MacArthur.' My father goes: 'I always thought your sister would win that,' and I said, 'Dad, just say congratulations and keep your private thoughts private.' At that point he laughed, then burst into tears, and it was obvious that he was so happy and proud.
bacteria breathe breathing covered food moment mostly single time
Most bacteria aren't bad. We breathe and eat and ingest gobs of bacteria every single moment of our lives. Our food is covered in bacteria. And you're breathing in bacteria all the time, and you mostly don't get sick.
best drives filled good lab scientist screwed soon
Everybody, as soon as they do a good experiment, their first thought in this lab is, 'That can't be right. I must have screwed it up. What did I do wrong?' And that's the best kind of scientist because they're filled with this self-doubt. And if I'm going to be honest, that's who I am. And it's what drives me.