--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the easiest application to help…" description: "\"I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png" --- # I think the easiest application to help people understand… ![“I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make the bacteria either deaf or mute, we could create new antibiotics.” quote by Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png) > “I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make the bacteria either deaf or mute, we could create new antibiotics.” [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding bacterial communication can lead to novel antibiotics by disabling their signaling. **In simple terms:** Blocking bacterial signals could create new drugs. Key Takeaway Explore signal‑blocking strategies. Themes biology medicine innovation Mood curious optimistic Type scientific educational When to use this quote - research labs - pharmaceutical design - public health policy Key Concepts quorum sensing antibiotic development Questions to Reflect On - How can we prevent resistance to signal‑blocking drugs? - What ethical concerns arise from manipulating microbes? A Different Perspective If bacteria adapt, signal disruption may fail. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antibiotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antibiotics/) [Application](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/application/) [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Bacteria Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria-deaf-1340636/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create/) [Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf/) [Easiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easiest/) [Either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/either/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Help people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-people/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-bacteria-6108801/) [Mute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mute/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Quorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quorum-1340639/) [Quorum Sensing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quorum-sensing-1340635/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Quorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-quorum-1340637/) [Why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why/) ## Related quotes > [We've all been sick; we're all afraid of infection. I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/we-ve-all-been-sick-we-re-all-afraid-of-infection-i-think-the-easiest/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [“Communities contain a messaging system in which identical cells or unrelated cells respond to each other and change their behavior. This adaptation is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/communities-contain-a-messaging-system-in-which-identical-cells-or/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“Organizing a working majority proved harder than we thought because we couldn't get a quorum. But one day in December, twelve people showed up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius-williams/organizing-a-working-majority-proved-harder-than-we-thought-because/) [Junius Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius-williams/) > [QUORUM, n. A sufficient number of members of a deliberative body to have their own way and their own way of having it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/quorum-n-a-sufficient-number-of-members-of-a-deliberative-body-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [When antibiotics first came out, nobody could have imagined we'd have the resistance problem we face today. We didn't give bacteria credit for being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/when-antibiotics-first-came-out-nobody-could-have-imagined-we-d-have/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [When antibiotics became industrially produced following World War II, our quality of life and our longevity improved enormously. No one thought bacteria were going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/when-antibiotics-became-industrially-produced-following-world-war-ii/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Medicine allows people to live who would otherwise die, so antibiotics will let people survive infections that they might be otherwise very vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/medicine-allows-people-to-live-who-would-otherwise-die-so-antibiotics/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I've never had a sinus infection or been on antibiotics since cutting out dairy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayim-bialik/i-ve-never-had-a-sinus-infection-or-been-on-antibiotics-since-cutting/) [Mayim Bialik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayim-bialik/) > [I don't prefer to fill my body with antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, and growth hormones - my body is my temple, and I treat it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-whang/i-don-t-prefer-to-fill-my-body-with-antibiotics-pesticides-steroids/) [Suzanne Whang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-whang/) > [I don't want food that comes from animals that are caged up and fed antibiotics. I am really suspicious of that kind of production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-don-t-want-food-that-comes-from-animals-that-are-caged-up-and-fed/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [I have vowed never to take antibiotics again unless I really need them. I also learned to pay attention to my body, know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/i-have-vowed-never-to-take-antibiotics-again-unless-i-really-need/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [While consumers may be more shocked by pink slime or the feeding of Prozac to poultry, the routine feeding of millions of pounds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greger/while-consumers-may-be-more-shocked-by-pink-slime-or-the-feeding-of/) [Michael Greger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greger/) > [When you look at the consequences of climate change, at rainforest deforestation, at antibiotic resistance, these are not necessarily political issues, but rather issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-look-at-the-consequences-of-climate-change-at-rainforest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When we prescribe antibiotics for a strep throat, it's not even for the strep throat. It's for the complications of the strep throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-varshavski/when-we-prescribe-antibiotics-for-a-strep-throat-it-s-not-even-for/) [Mikhail Varshavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-varshavski/) > [Widespread use of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling its spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/widespread-use-of-antibiotics-promotes-the-spread-of-antibiotic/) [A. P. J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/) ## More by Bonnie Bassler > [We mostly don't get sick. Most often, bacteria are keeping us well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/we-mostly-don-t-get-sick-most-often-bacteria-are-keeping-us-well/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/it-s-a-manic-depressive-life-you-run-in-here-you-open-your-incubator/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/all-these-bacteria-that-coat-our-skin-and-live-in-our-intestines-they/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [My bacteria glow in the dark - no human being doesn't like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/my-bacteria-glow-in-the-dark-no-human-being-doesn-t-like-that/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Most bacteria aren't bad. We breathe and eat and ingest gobs of bacteria every single moment of our lives. Our food is covered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/most-bacteria-aren-t-bad-we-breathe-and-eat-and-ingest-gobs-of/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [I called up and said, 'Dad, I won a MacArthur.' My father goes: 'I always thought your sister would win that,' and I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-called-up-and-said-dad-i-won-a-macarthur-my-father-goes-i-always/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [By weight, you are more human than bacteria, because your cells are bigger, but by numbers, it's not even close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/by-weight-you-are-more-human-than-bacteria-because-your-cells-are/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [We've all been sick; we're all afraid of infection. I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/we-ve-all-been-sick-we-re-all-afraid-of-infection-i-think-the-easiest/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-can-find-bacteria-everywhere-they-re-invisible-to-us-i-ve-never/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [If a bacterium is trying to infect you, it won't secrete alone, because your immune system will block it. Bacteria will hide until they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/if-a-bacterium-is-trying-to-infect-you-it-won-t-secrete-alone-because/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Bacteria mineralized the rocks; they deposited the iron. They made the geology we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-mineralized-the-rocks-they-deposited-the-iron-they-made-the/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [You think of yourselves as human beings, but I think of you as 99 percent bacterial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-think-of-yourselves-as-human-beings-but-i-think-of-you-as-99/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Bacteria live in unbelievable mixtures of hundreds or thousands of species. Like on your teeth. There are 600 species of bacteria on your teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-live-in-unbelievable-mixtures-of-hundreds-or-thousands-of/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [You live in intimate association with bacteria, and you couldn't survive without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-live-in-intimate-association-with-bacteria-and-you-couldn-t/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [I remember the day we found the gene for the inter-species signaling molecule like it was yesterday. We got the gene, and we plugged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-remember-the-day-we-found-the-gene-for-the-inter-species-signaling/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) [Explore all 39 Bonnie Bassler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) ## More Antibiotics quotes > [Widespread use of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling its spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/widespread-use-of-antibiotics-promotes-the-spread-of-antibiotic/) [A. P. J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/) > [When we prescribe antibiotics for a strep throat, it's not even for the strep throat. It's for the complications of the strep throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-varshavski/when-we-prescribe-antibiotics-for-a-strep-throat-it-s-not-even-for/) [Mikhail Varshavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-varshavski/) > [When you look at the consequences of climate change, at rainforest deforestation, at antibiotic resistance, these are not necessarily political issues, but rather issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-look-at-the-consequences-of-climate-change-at-rainforest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [While consumers may be more shocked by pink slime or the feeding of Prozac to poultry, the routine feeding of millions of pounds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greger/while-consumers-may-be-more-shocked-by-pink-slime-or-the-feeding-of/) [Michael Greger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greger/) > [I have vowed never to take antibiotics again unless I really need them. I also learned to pay attention to my body, know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/i-have-vowed-never-to-take-antibiotics-again-unless-i-really-need/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [I don't want food that comes from animals that are caged up and fed antibiotics. I am really suspicious of that kind of production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-don-t-want-food-that-comes-from-animals-that-are-caged-up-and-fed/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [I don't prefer to fill my body with antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, and growth hormones - my body is my temple, and I treat it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-whang/i-don-t-prefer-to-fill-my-body-with-antibiotics-pesticides-steroids/) [Suzanne Whang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-whang/) > [I've never had a sinus infection or been on antibiotics since cutting out dairy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayim-bialik/i-ve-never-had-a-sinus-infection-or-been-on-antibiotics-since-cutting/) [Mayim Bialik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayim-bialik/) > [Medicine allows people to live who would otherwise die, so antibiotics will let people survive infections that they might be otherwise very vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/medicine-allows-people-to-live-who-would-otherwise-die-so-antibiotics/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Do any of us actually want to live in a world where your boss can decide that he or she is morally opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carmona/do-any-of-us-actually-want-to-live-in-a-world-where-your-boss-can/) [Richard Carmona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carmona/) > [Even diseases have lost their prestige, there aren't so many of them left. Think it over... no more syphilis, no more clap, no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/even-diseases-have-lost-their-prestige-there-aren-t-so-many-of-them/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [People are going to start realizing, why take those antibiotics that are extracts of mushrooms? Why not just have the mushrooms?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/people-are-going-to-start-realizing-why-take-those-antibiotics-that/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [Up to 90% of the total decline in the death rate of children between 1860-1965 because of whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie-kalokerinos/up-to-90-of-the-total-decline-in-the-death-rate-of-children-between/) [Archie Kalokerinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie-kalokerinos/) > [“Food animals also get antibiotics for “growth promotion,” a metabolically mysterious process that has made possible the entire high-volume, low-margin business of industrial-scale farming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryn-mckenna/food-animals-also-get-antibiotics-for-growth-promotion-a/) [Maryn McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryn-mckenna/) > [The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic - in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-greatest-analgesic-soporific-stimulant-tranquilizer-narcotic-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) [Browse all 109 Antibiotics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antibiotics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to study is to tell them that if we could make the bacteria either deaf or mute, we could create new antibiotics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bonnie Bassler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help-people-understand-what-quorum/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antibiotics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help-people-understand-what-quorum/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/bonnie-bassler-16646_antibiotics_i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help_3230406.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why it's important to…” — Bonnie Bassler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bonnie Bassler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the easiest application to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help-people-understand-what-quorum/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-think-the-easiest-application-to-help-people-understand-what-quorum/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```