biology

Discovering bacteria's amazing communication system: Bonnie Bassler on TED.com

Posted by: Matthew Trost

Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria “talk” to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry — and our understanding of ourselves. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 18:41.)

Watch Bonnie Bassler’s talk from TED2009 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks — including more talks on evolution’s genius.

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