Annelle of the Big Think says:
Here's a followup to your August 6 post "The new generation of resistant infections is almost impossible to treat" that mentions Dr. Bonnie Bassler.
While the post was fairly pessimistic, in our recent interview with Dr. Bassler she offers a slightly sunnier view. Namely, that outbreaks of bacteria, (for example, the recent salmonella tomato scare, last year's spinach crisis,) are not the result of pathogens necessarily becoming stronger: the salmonella was still regular salmonella. The problem lies in the set up of our food system, in which any contamination is immediately spread over a wide area, making it difficult to control or even track it. (I think the answer is for everyone to become a locavore.)
Dr. Bonnie Bassler, "Dealing with Bacterial Crises."
The link to the full interview is here, wherein Dr. Bassler discusses the issue of women in science, her discovery of quorum sensing, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.
