Sean Carroll
@seancarroll·255K subscribers·596 videos
Bonnie Bassler on How Bacteria Talk and Work Together | Mindscape 361
Posted
July 20, 2026
Views
5,337
Likes
171
Comments
36
Engagement
3.88%
July 20, 2026
5,337
171
36
3.88%
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1:17:55Now PlayingBlog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript
One of the characteristics of life is that living organisms gather information and put it to use. Even one of the simplest lifeforms, bacteria, are able to sense features of their surroundings and alter their behavior accordingly. Most impressively, they are able to sense the presence of similar bacteria by a process called quorum sensing. Today's guest, Bonnie Bassler, is a leader in this field, and explains how quorum sensing allows groups of bacteria to do things (including in our bodies) that wouldn't be possible for individual bacteria.
Bonnie Bassler received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University. She is currently Andrew K. Golden University Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among her awards are a MacArthur Fellowship, the Gruber Prize in Genetics, and the National Medal of Science.
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