The Brew Lab: Uncultured

Bacteria. Small, single-celled organisms that inhabit virtually every environment on Earth. They can be found in our guts or on our skin and come in various shapes and sizes. Some are beneficial, aiding digestion, supporting nutrient cycling or even facilitating the production of foods such as cheese, yogurt and sauerkraut. Others cause illness and disease.

Following Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, antibiotics–a class of drugs that kill bacteria or stop them from growing–rose to popularity, saving many lives from bacterial infections. But misuse and overdependence in healthcare and agriculture has driven resistance, as bacteria evolve new ways to evade these human-made interventions. The result? Common bacterial infections that are becoming harder and harder to treat and a global urgency to develop new ways to combat them.

Enter Dr. Bonnie Bassler and her team of molecular biologists whose award-winning research helped uncover how bacteria communicate with each other! More than unlocking Duolingo for microbes, Dr. Bassler’s research opens up a whole new realm of potential interventions to target harmful bacterial infections. Join us for a special evening with Dr. Bassler as she shares details of her discovery and its potential future impact, and answers your questions about talking with bacteria.

Illustration of quorum sensing: Dr. Thom Leach, Amoeba Studios Ltd.