How Do Bacteria Talk To Each Other?
Summary
Dr. Bonnie Bassler explores the intricate world of bacterial communication, revealing how these microscopic organisms use chemical signals to count neighbors, distinguish between species, and make collective decisions. This "quorum sensing" allows bacteria to coordinate complex behaviors, from sharing resources to launching attacks, depending on their social environment. Understanding this ancient communication system not only sheds light on the fundamental nature of life but also opens critical pathways for developing novel biomedical and industrial applications, from new medicines to environmental clean-up.Episode description
Bacteria have been around for billions of years. Could they have come up with complex behaviors that we just don’t understand yet? Could they have their own language? Their own culture? Their own complex societies playing out right under, and in, our noses?
Microbiologist Bonnie Bassler has been studying these questions for more than 30 years. She talks with Host Flora Lichtman about the wild world of bacterial communication, and how understanding microbes could help us understand ourselves.
Guest: Dr. Bonnie Bassler is a microbiologist at Princeton University.
The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com.
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