15 Bonnie Bassler Quotes for You to Enjoy

Bonnie Bassler

American Scientist

Born: 1962

Bacteria Day Every People Think You

Related authors: Ben Carson Carl Sagan E. O. Wilson George Washington Carver Isaac Asimov Margaret Mead Neil deGrasse Tyson W. Edwards Deming

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. Bonnie Bassler

Today Change Problem Face First Out Bacteria Able Give Could Nobody Came Antibiotics Being Fast Credit Resistance Adapt Imagined

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

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

Hope You Scientists Goal Than Tube Bigger Working Moment Thing

All these bacteria that coat our skin and live in our intestines, they fend off bad bacteria. They protect us. And you can't even digest your food without the bacteria that are in your gut. They have enzymes and proteins that allow you to metabolize foods you eat. Bonnie Bassler

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. Bonnie Bassler

Best Good Me Thought First Experiment To Be Honest Everybody Kind Must Drives Wrong Soon Self-Doubt Because Am Scientist Lab Up Did Going Screwed Who Filled Right Honest

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

I remember the day we found the gene for the inter-species signaling molecule like it was yesterday. We got the gene, and we plugged it into a database. And we immediately saw that this gene was in an amazing number of species of bacteria. It was a huge moment of realization. Bonnie Bassler

Day Remember Amazing Yesterday Saw Immediately Bacteria Gene Database Like Got Huge Realization Molecule Moment Found Species Number

Think about all kinds of infectious diseases, like mumps or measles or chicken pox. When a virgin population encountered those pathogens, it ravaged the population, and now they're childhood diseases, and eventually they won't even be that. That's our relationship with bacteria, going through time. Bonnie Bassler

I went to UC Davis because I wanted to be a vet. It's a great profession if it's right for you, but it's memorizing the bones and the muscles, and I am terrible at stuff like that. Also, there's a lot of blood and gore involved. Bonnie Bassler

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

I was a huge athlete as a kid. I was on every sports team. Bonnie Bassler

Sports Every Kid Athlete Huge Team

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