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
Bonnie Bassler quotes about
dark bacteria humans
My bacteria glow in the dark - no human being doesn't like that.
motivation inspiration thinking
You think of yourselves as human beings, but I think of you as 99 percent bacterial.
motivation inspiration differences
[Bacteria] have an incredibly complicated chemical lexicon that ... allows bacteria to be multicellular. In the spirit of TED they're doing things together because it makes a difference.
goal moments scientist
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 the moment.
successful thinking keys
I think being open-minded about what Nature is trying to tell you is the key to being creative and successful.
war quality world
When antibiotics became industrially produced following World War II, our quality of life and our longevity improved enormously. No one thought bacteria were going to become resistant.
iron rocks bacteria
Bacteria mineralized the rocks; they deposited the iron. They made the geology we see.
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.
albert einstein gogh van
So, okay, I'm not a genius. Vincent Van Gogh and Albert Einstein were geniuses.
mostly
We mostly don't get sick. Most often, bacteria are keeping us well.
huge sports
I was a huge athlete as a kid. I was on every sports team.
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.
alone bacteria block hide immune system trying until
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.
allow bacteria bad coat digest food foods protect proteins skin
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.