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Bonnie Bassler is one of the scientists who are starting to explore the secret languages of the primitive single-cell organisms known as bacteria. Photograph by Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office |
Bacteria have more to say than previously thoughtBacteria are the oldest living organisms, dating back 4 billion years. So it is only logical that they have evolved ways to communicate. Yet scientists are just starting to explore the secret languages of these primitive single-cell organisms, whose abundant numbers form most of the Earth’s biomass, and who — depending on species — can both cause and prevent disease in plants, animals, and humans. One of the pioneer scientific explorers of cell-to-cell bacterial communication is Princeton University microbiologist Bonnie Bassler. The one-time MacArthur Fellow brought an overview of her work to Harvard this week (Feb. 23) in a fast-paced lecture she called “Tiny Conspiracies.” |
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