Cracking the Code of Bacterial Communication 58
TEDChris writes "Microbiologist Bonnie Bassler explains her discovery of 'quorum sensing' — the amazing ability of bacteria to communicate with each other and coordinate attack strategies (video). By cracking the communication code, she has opened up potential for a new class of drugs tackling microbial diseases. The talk got a massive standing ovation at this year's TED and has just been posted. To quote one commenter: 'This is by far the most inspiring, amazing, and far-reaching talk I've seen in a very long time.'"
Re:Killing household mold (Score:3, Insightful)
Mold and staph are both very good at entrenching themselves into their environment. They basically form a base layer that they can attach to, and then they're much harder to get out. A good method of attacking mold or staph colonies would be to find something that breaks up their base layer so that they're exposed to the environment. Unfortunately, you need a chemical that can penetrate porous materials easily, and those chemicals don't tend to do well around the home.
Re:I love TED. (Score:4, Insightful)
Bacteria are the oldest organisms on the planet", Oh Really? I guess "Archaea" are just called that for fun.
I'm certain she knows all the stuff you just mentioned, maybe she even teaches a "microbiology 101" and covers that.
Sounds like she was talking to a crowd that wouldn't know eubacteria from archaea. Kind of like if an entomologist uses "bugs" to refer to insects and arachnids. She was obviously "dumbing it down" for a specific crowd. So she's not being 100% accurate in the details that the audience won't remember, big deal. Maybe she went too far, it's debatable, but her talk sounds like it went over well with the audience and was a success. I say good job, focusing too much on trivial details is a good way to ensure ineffective communication.
Re:I love TED. (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are you so quick to criticize? Ever researcher wants more money, otherwise they can't continue doing research. duh.
"Bacteria are the oldest organisms on the planet", Oh Really? I guess "Archaea" are just called that for fun.
Classification changes though, when I took biology we didn't have a 3 domain system, and Archaea were considered a sub section of Bacteria. I know this is based on newer theories of their evolutionary history, but really, this history had nothing to her research.
Forget about Antibiotics. As she said, your body needs bacteria to live, so better understanding how to control and perhaps even help bacteria do their job inside you is important.
Wouldn't it be nice to reduce malnourishment problems if you could give impoverished people really efficient bacteria?
Wouldn't it be easier than a tummy tuck if you just gave someone lazy bacteria ?
I think it is interesting, but it is a free country and you are welcome to spit on what she cares about.
Re:I love TED. (Score:5, Insightful)
based on your comments, you must be taking microbiology 101 right now. you are clearly neither an actual microbiologist nor an immunologist, and it would be best if you don't try to critique things about which you have no clue.
bonnie bassler was one of the discoverers and is a lead researcher of quorum sensing. try a google scholar search for "bassler quorum sensing."
"the whole mechanism of our immune system is based on detecting the harm that pathogens cause". what are you talking about? do you know anything about T cells, B cells, or toll-like receptors? I didn't think so.
given how the immune system actually works, blocking virulence is a legitimate strategy for antibiotics, not least because it could exert less selective pressure on the microbes. while virulence was blocked, your immune system would be able to recognize and eliminate the bacteria.
bonnie bassler doesn't need grant money. she's hhmi (http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/bassler_bio.html) and has a macarthur "genius" fellowship, both of which are essentially blank checks for top-flight researchers. I'm sure you already knew that though.
Re:I love TED. (Score:3, Insightful)
Or, in a nutshell:
There is money in curing a disease.
But there is more money in treating it.
Re:I love TED. (Score:3, Insightful)
Heh, TED is a conference for rich people and washed out movie stars who wanna smooze with scientists. The price of admission is this kind of pandering.
Re:I love TED. (Score:2, Insightful)
Better yet, if you can detect a specific dangerous bacterium early and convince it to attack the body before it actually has an effective population maybe the body's immune system will have an easy time of it.
Re:started good, ended poorly (Score:3, Insightful)
Welcome to the modern pharmaceutical industry. We live in the era of "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" medical treatment. If you find a drug that stops mice from dying when you inject them with the plague (or staph or whatever nasty will get you the most funding this week) then you've done all the basic research you need. Now all you need to do is patent it, find yourself a buyer and they'll start the long death march to a clinical trial, all the while trying to figure out how best to make it for pennies and charge millions.