If a bacterium is trying to infect you, it won't secrete alone, because your immune system will block it. Bacteria will hide until they can all act together and make an impact. Bonnie Bassler actbacteriumblock Change image and share on social
My job is to teach someone something they never knew, but it should not be like you're in a prisoner-of-war camp. I'm supposed to be teaching you but also entertaining you. You're giving me an hour of your time. It should be lively. We're on a hunt, it's a mystery, and it's amazing. Bonnie Bassler amazecampentertain share on social
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. Bonnie Bassler afraidantibioticapplication share on social
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. Bonnie Bassler bacteriumbehaviorcollective Change image and share on social
In my lab, we are always thinking about how cells, bacterial cells, can talk to each other and then organize themselves into enormous groups that function in unison. Bonnie Bassler bacterialcellenormous Change image and share on social
The goal of scientists is you hope that the thing you're working on is bigger than the thing you're pipetting into that tube at that moment. Bonnie Bassler biggoalhope Change image and share on social
I was a huge athlete as a kid. I was on every sports team. Bonnie Bassler athletehugekid Change image and share on social
Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher organisms. There are 10 times more bacterial cells in you or on you than human cells. Bonnie Bassler bacterialbacteriumcell Change image and share on social
My bacteria glow in the dark - no human being doesn't like that. Bonnie Bassler bacteriumdarkglow Change image and share on social
You can find bacteria everywhere. They're invisible to us. I've never seen a bacterium, except under a microscope. They're so small, we don't see them, but they are everywhere. Bonnie Bassler bacteriumfindhave Change image and share on social
