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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
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I want to make a drug. I want the science to be more than imaginary, where I think, 'We're learning these fundamental principles, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' I think we are doing that, but I want to do something really practical. I want to actually, in my lifetime, help people.
Bonnie Bassler
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As a kid, I loved doing puzzles, solving riddles, and reading mystery books. I also loved animals and always had pets.
Bonnie Bassler
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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
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It's a manic-depressive life. You run in here, you open your incubator, your experiment makes no sense, you think, 'I hate this job.' Then ten minutes later you think, 'Well, now, maybe I'll try this or I'll try that.' You do it because you know there will be an 'a-ha!' day.
Bonnie Bassler
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I realized that lab research was the perfect path for me. It allowed me to spend every day figuring out mysteries/puzzles that have to do with what make us alive. What could be a bigger mystery or puzzle?
Bonnie Bassler
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I think being open-minded about what Nature is trying to tell you is the key to being creative and successful.
Bonnie Bassler
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You live in intimate association with bacteria, and you couldn't survive without them.
Bonnie Bassler
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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.
Bonnie Bassler
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By weight, you are more human than bacteria, because your cells are bigger, but by numbers, it's not even close.
Bonnie Bassler
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If I didn't teach the aerobics class, I wouldn't come, and I need to stay in shape. I've got a whole wardrobe of sleeveless dresses and strapless gowns, not to mention the short skirts.
Bonnie Bassler
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I am lucky because I get to work with the smartest, most creative, and most devoted group of students and postdoctoral fellows imaginable.
Bonnie Bassler
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You can find bacteria everywhere. They're invisible to us. I've never seen a bacterium, except under a microscope. They're so small, we don't see them, but they are everywhere.
Bonnie Bassler
