How bacteria "talk" - Bonnie Bassler

Summary

This script delves into the fascinating world of bacteria, the most ancient life forms on Earth. It reveals that we are more bacterial than human, with 10 times more bacterial cells than human ones. These microorganisms play a crucial role in our health, aiding digestion, immune system education, and vitamin production. The talk explores how bacteria communicate through chemical signals, a process known as quorum sensing, which coordinates group behaviors. This communication is key to their social behaviors, including pathogenic attacks. The speaker discusses the potential of disrupting these chemical conversations to develop new antibiotics, offering a promising approach to combat antibiotic resistance.

Takeaways

• 🌿 Bacteria are the most ancient living organisms on Earth, existing for billions of years.
• 🔬 Bacteria are single-celled and microscopic, with a limited number of genes due to having only one piece of DNA.
• 🌱 Bacteria reproduce by consuming nutrients, growing, and dividing, a process that's fundamental to their survival.
• 🤝 Humans have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, hosting 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells.
• 🧬 Humans possess around 30,000 genes, but the bacterial genes associated with us are about a hundred times more, suggesting we are largely bacterial.
• 🛡️ Bacteria provide essential services like forming a protective barrier, aiding digestion, producing vitamins, and educating our immune system.
• 🌌 Some bacteria can cause severe illnesses if they enter the human body inappropriately.
• 🗣️ Bacteria communicate with each other using chemical signals, a process known as quorum sensing, which coordinates group behaviors.
• 🐙 The bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri demonstrates how bacteria can synchronize behaviors based on population density.
• 🔬 Scientists have discovered that bacteria use both species-specific and universal communication systems to interact with each other.
• 💊 New approaches to antibiotics target bacterial communication systems, potentially offering a solution to antibiotic resistance.

Q & A

What is the significance of bacteria being single-celled organisms with a single piece of DNA?

Bacteria being single-celled with a single piece of DNA means they have a limited number of genes to encode their traits, which affects their complexity and the functions they can perform.

How do bacteria reproduce and what is the process called?

Bacteria reproduce by consuming nutrients, growing to twice their size, and then dividing into two cells through a process known as binary fission.

What is the ratio of human cells to bacterial cells in the human body, according to the script?

There are about 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells in or on the human body.

How do bacteria interact with the human body, and what roles do they play?

Bacteria interact with the human body by forming an invisible body armor that protects against environmental insults, aiding in digestion, producing vitamins, and educating the immune system to keep harmful microbes out.

What is the concept of 'Quorum sensing' in bacteria, as mentioned in the script?

Quorum sensing is a communication method used by bacteria where they release and detect specific molecules to coordinate group behaviors based on population density.

How does the bacterium Vibrio fischeri demonstrate quorum sensing?

Vibrio fischeri demonstrates quorum sensing by producing bioluminescence only when a certain cell density is reached, indicating they are communicating and acting collectively.

What is the symbiotic relationship between Vibrio fischeri and the Hawaiian bobtail squid?

Vibrio fischeri lives in the light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid, providing light for the squid to counter-illuminate itself and avoid predators, while the squid provides a safe environment and nutrients for the bacteria.

How do bacteria 'talk' to each other, as described in the script?

Bacteria 'talk' to each other by secreting small molecules that act as chemical signals, which are detected by other bacteria to coordinate behaviors such as bioluminescence or virulence.

What are the potential applications of understanding quorum sensing in bacteria?

Understanding quorum sensing can lead to the development of new antibiotics that target bacterial communication, potentially reducing the ability of bacteria to launch coordinated virulence attacks and thus overcoming antibiotic resistance.

How do bacteria distinguish between their own species and others?

Bacteria use a combination of species-specific and generic chemical signaling molecules to distinguish between their own species and others, allowing for both intra- and inter-species communication.

What is the potential of anti-quorum sensing molecules as a new class of antibiotics?

Anti-quorum sensing molecules have the potential to disrupt bacterial communication, preventing coordinated virulence and offering a new strategy in combating antibiotic resistance.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 The Ubiquity and Importance of Bacteria

The script begins by introducing bacteria as the oldest living organisms on Earth, existing for billions of years. These single-celled microscopic organisms have a unique characteristic of possessing only one piece of DNA, which limits their genetic information. Bacteria sustain themselves by consuming nutrients from their surroundings, growing, and dividing through a simple process. The speaker humorously points out that humans, despite considering themselves as distinct entities, are vastly outnumbered by bacterial cells, which are both internal and external. These bacteria play crucial roles in human health, providing a protective barrier, aiding in digestion, vitamin production, and immune system education. The narrative also touches on the duality of bacteria's impact, highlighting both their beneficial and harmful potentials, and posing a question about how such tiny organisms can exert significant influence given their size and solitary lifestyle.

05:02

🐙 The Symbiotic Relationship of Vibrio fischeri and the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid

This section delves into the fascinating symbiosis between Vibrio fischeri, a bioluminescent bacterium, and the Hawaiian bobtail squid. The speaker explains how the bacteria, which emit light when present in high concentrations, reside within the squid's light organ. The squid uses the bacteria's light for counter-illumination, a defense mechanism that prevents it from casting a shadow and becoming prey. The bacteria's light production is regulated by a quorum sensing mechanism, where they communicate chemically and synchronize their light emission based on population density. The speaker then discusses the molecular biology behind this phenomenon, revealing that Vibrio fischeri produces a specific molecule that triggers light production when a critical cell density is reached. This mechanism is not unique to this bacterium but is a widespread communication strategy among bacteria, known as quorum sensing, which allows them to coordinate group behaviors.

10:03

🔬 Bacterial Communication and Its Implications for Medicine

The speaker explores the concept of bacteria as multilingual communicators, capable of both intra- and inter-species communication using chemical signals. This ability allows bacteria to take a census of their population and their environment, which is crucial for their social behaviors. The script then transitions into the potential medical applications of understanding bacterial communication. By disrupting these chemical conversations, it may be possible to create new antibiotics that do not kill bacteria but rather incapacitate their ability to communicate and coordinate virulent attacks. This approach could offer a solution to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The speaker also mentions the development of pro-quorum sensing molecules aimed at enhancing the beneficial bacteria that coexist with humans, potentially leading to improved health outcomes.

15:05

🌐 The Broader Impact of Bacterial Studies on Human Health and Scientific Discovery

In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the broader implications of studying bacteria for understanding multicellularity and human health. They suggest that bacteria, with their ancient existence on Earth, may have laid the groundwork for multicellular organization, and by studying these simple organisms, we can gain insights applicable to complex human systems. The speaker also emphasizes the practical applications of this research, with the development of anti-quorum sensing molecules as a new therapeutic approach. Additionally, they celebrate the contributions of young scientists to the field, highlighting the importance of nurturing the next generation of scientific talent.

Keywords

💡Bacteria

Bacteria are single-celled microscopic organisms that have existed on Earth for billions of years. They are characterized by having a single piece of DNA and are responsible for a multitude of functions in various environments. In the context of the video, bacteria are highlighted as integral to human health, outnumbering human cells in the body and playing crucial roles such as digestion and immune system education. The video emphasizes that bacteria are not just passive entities but actively contribute to our well-being.

💡Genetic Code

The genetic code refers to the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences) is translated into proteins by living cells. In the video, it is mentioned that humans have about 30,000 genes, which are part of our genetic code and determine our characteristics. However, the video also points out that the number of bacterial genes interacting with us is significantly higher, suggesting that our genetic identity is more complex than just human genes.

💡Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is a cell-to-cell communication method used by bacteria to coordinate group behaviors based on population density. The video explains that bacteria 'talk' to each other using chemical signals, which accumulate in the environment and trigger collective actions when a certain threshold is reached. This mechanism is crucial for behaviors such as bioluminescence in Vibrio fischeri and virulence in pathogenic bacteria.

💡Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism, such as fireflies or certain bacteria. The video uses Vibrio fischeri as an example of bacteria that exhibit bioluminescence. This bacterium only emits light when it reaches a certain cell density, demonstrating a form of quorum sensing where the bacteria communicate and act collectively.

💡Vibrio fischeri

Vibrio fischeri is a marine bacterium known for its bioluminescent properties. In the video, it is described as living in a symbiotic relationship with the Hawaiian bobtail squid, where the bacteria provide light for the squid, which uses it for counter-illumination to avoid detection by predators. This example illustrates the intricate interactions between bacteria and their hosts.

💡Symbiosis

Symbiosis refers to a close and long-term interaction between two different biological species, which can be mutualistic, commensal, or parasitic. The video describes the relationship between Vibrio fischeri and the Hawaiian bobtail squid as mutualistic, where both organisms benefit: the squid gets light for camouflage, and the bacteria get a safe environment and nutrients.

💡Virulence

Virulence is the degree of disease-causing potential of a microorganism. In the context of the video, it is mentioned that bacteria can control their virulence through quorum sensing, launching an attack only when they have reached a sufficient number to overcome the host's defenses. This collective behavior is a strategy used by bacteria to ensure the success of their pathogenic actions.

💡Anti-Quorum Sensing Molecules

Anti-quorum sensing molecules are compounds designed to disrupt the quorum sensing communication of bacteria. The video discusses how these molecules can be used as a new approach to antibiotics by preventing bacteria from coordinating their virulence. By targeting the bacteria's communication system, these molecules can potentially reduce the effectiveness of their pathogenic attacks and offer an alternative to traditional antibiotics.

💡Multicellular Organization

Multicellular organization refers to the structure and function of organisms composed of multiple cells that work together. The video suggests that bacteria, through quorum sensing and collective behaviors, exhibit a form of multicellular organization. This concept is important as it challenges the traditional view of bacteria as simple, single-celled organisms and highlights their complex social behaviors.

💡Chemical Language

Chemical language in the context of the video refers to the way bacteria communicate using chemical signals. These signals are secreted by bacteria and are detected by others, allowing them to coordinate group behaviors. The video explains that this chemical communication is essential for bacteria to function as a collective, much like how multicellular organisms use chemical signals for cell communication.

Highlights

Bacteria are the oldest living organisms on Earth, with a history of billions of years.

Bacteria are single-celled organisms with a single piece of DNA, making them genetically simple.

Bacteria reproduce by consuming nutrients, growing, and dividing.

There are 10 times more bacterial cells in and on the human body than human cells.

Bacteria play a crucial role in human health, including digestion and immune system education.

Bacteria can communicate with each other using chemical signals, a process known as quorum sensing.

Vibrio fischeri, a bioluminescent bacterium, demonstrates collective behavior through quorum sensing.

Bacteria use a chemical language to coordinate group behaviors like virulence.

Bacteria have species-specific and universal communication systems for intra- and inter-species interaction.

The discovery of bacterial communication molecules has led to the development of new antibiotics.

Anti-quorum sensing molecules can prevent bacteria from launching virulence attacks.

Bacteria may have invented multicellular organization principles that are reflected in human biology.

Pro-quorum sensing molecules are being developed to enhance the beneficial bacteria in our bodies.

The study of bacteria can provide insights into human diseases and behaviors.

Bacteria can distinguish self from others using specific chemical signals.

The research presented was conducted by a team of young scientists at Princeton University.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Music]

bacteria are the oldest living organisms

on the earth they've been here for

billions of years and what they are are

single cell microscopic organisms so

they're one cell and they have the

special property that they only have one

piece of DNA so they have very few genes

and genetic information to encode all of

the traits that they carry out and the

way bacteria make a living is that they

consume nutrients from the environment

they grow to twice their size they cut

themselves down in the middle and one

cell becomes two and so on and so on so

they just grow and divide and grow and

divide so kind of boring life except

that what I would argue is that you have

an amazing interaction with these

Critters I know you guys think of

yourself as humans and this is sort of

how I think of you and so this man is

supposed to represent a generic human

being and all of the circles in that man

are all of the cells that make up your

body so there's about a trillion human

cells that make each one of us who we

are and able to do all the things that

we do but you have 10 trillion bacterial

cells in you or on you at any moment in

your life so 10 times more bacterial

cells than human cells on a human being

and so of course it's the DNA that

counts so here's all the ATS G's and C's

that make up your genetic code and give

you all your Charming characteristics so

so you have about 30,000 genes well it

turns out you have a hundred times more

bacterial genes playing a role in you or

on you all of your life and so at the

best you're 10% human you're more likely

about 1% human depending on which of

these metrics you like so I know you

think of yourself as human beings but I

think of you as 90 or

99%

bacterial and these bacteria are not

passive Riders these are incredibly

important they Keep Us Alive they cover

Us in an invisible body armor that keeps

environmental insults out so that we

stay healthy they digest our food they

make our vitamins they actually educate

your immune system to keep bad microbes

out so they do all these amazing things

that help us and keep and are vital for

keeping us alive and they never get any

press for that but they get a lot of

press because they do a lot of terrible

things as well so there's all kinds of

bacteria on the earth that have no

business being in you or on you at any

time and if they are they make you

incredibly sick and so the question for

my lab is whether you want to think

about all the good things that bacteria

do or all the bad things that bacteria

do the question we had is how could they

do anything at all I mean they're

incredibly small you have to have a

microscope to see one they live this

sing sort of boring life where they grow

and divide and they've always been to

considered to be these asocial reclusive

organisms and so it seemed to us that

they're just too small to have an impact

on the environment if they simply act as

individuals and so we wanted to think if

there couldn't be a different way the

bacteria live and the clue to this came

from another Marine bacterium and it's a

bacterium called vibrio fisheri and so

what you're looking at on this slide is

just a person from my lab holding a

flask of a liquid culture of a bacterium

a harmless beautiful bacterium that

comes from the ocean named Vio ferai and

this bacterium has the special property

that it makes light so it makes

bioluminescence like fireflies make

light so we're not doing anything to the

cells here we just took the picture by

turning the lights off in the room and

this is what we see and what was

actually interesting to us was not that

the bacteria made light but when the

bacteria made light what we noticed is

when the bacteria were alone so when

they were in dilute suspension they made

no light but when they grew to a certain

cell number all the bacteria turned on

light simultaneously and so the question

that we had is how can bacteria these

primitive organisms tell the difference

from times when they're alone and times

when they're in a community and then all

do something together and what we

figured out is that the way that they do

that is that they talk to each other and

they talk with a chemical language so

this is now supposed to be my bacterial

cell when it's alone it doesn't make any

light but what it does do is to make and

secrete small molecules that you can

think of like hormones and these are the

red triangles and when the bacteria is

alone the molecules just float away and

so no light but when the bacteria grow

and double and they're all participating

in making these molecules the molecule

the extracellular amount of that

molecule increases in proportion to cell

number and when the molecule hits a

certain amount that tells the bacteria

how many neighbors they are they

recognize that molecule and all of the

bacteria turn on light in synchrony and

so that's how bioluminescence Works

they're talking with these chemical

words and the reason that vibrio fisher

is doing that comes from the biology so

again another plug for the animals in

the ocean Vio fish frry lives in this

squid what you're looking at is the

Hawaiian bobtail squid and it's been

turned on its back and what I hope you

can see are these two glowing loes and

these house the vibal feriz cells they

live in there at high cell number that

molecule is there and they're making

light and the reason the squid is

willing to put up with these Shenanigans

is because it wants that light and so

the way that this symbiosis works is

that this little squid lives just off

the coast of Hawaii so just in sort of

shallow kneee water and the squid is

nocturnal so during the day it buries

itself in the sand and sleeps but then

at night it has to come out to hunt and

so on bright nights when there's lots of

Starlight or Moonlight that light can

penetrate the depth of the water the

squid lives in since it's just in those

couple feet of water and what the squid

has developed is a shutter that can open

and close over this specialized light

organ housing the bacteria and then it

has detectors on its back so it can

sense how much Starlight or Moonlight is

hitting its back and it opens and closes

the shutter so the amount of light

coming out of the bottom which is made

by the bacterium exactly matches how

much light hits the Squid's back so the

squid doesn't make a Shadow so it

actually uses the light from the

bacteria to counter illuminate itself in

an anti-predation device and so it so

predators can't see its shadow calculate

its trajectory and eat it and so this is

like the stealth bomber of the

ocean but then if you think about it

this squid has this terrible problem

because it's got this D ing thick

culture of bacteria and it can't sustain

that and so what happens is every

morning when the sun comes up the Squid

goes back to sleep it buries itself in

the sand and it's got a pump that's

attached to its circadian rhythm and

when the sun comes up it pumps out like

95% of the bacteria and so now the

bacteria are dilute that little hormone

molecule is gone so they're not making

light but of course the squid doesn't

care it's asleep in the sand and as the

day goes by the bacteria double they

release the molecule and then light

comes on at night exactly when the squid

wants it and so first we figured out how

and this bacterium does this but then we

brought the tools of molecular biology

to this to figure out really what's the

mechanism and what we found so this is

now supposed to be again my bacterial

cell is that vibrio fishery has a

protein that's the red box it's an

enzyme that makes that little hormone

molecule the red triangle and then as

the cells grow they're all releasing

that molecule into the environment so

there's lots of molecule there and the

bacteria also have a receptor on their

cell surface that fits like a lock and

key with that molecule these are just

like The receptors on the surfaces of

your cells and so when the molecule

increases to a certain amount which says

something about the number of cells it

locks down into that receptor and

information comes into the cells that

tells the cells to turn on this

Collective behavior of making light and

why this is interesting is because in

the past decade we have found that this

is not just some anomaly of this

ridiculous glow-in-the-dark bacterium

that lives in the ocean all B have

systems like this so now what we

understand is that all bacteria can talk

to each other they make Chemical words

they recognize those words and they turn

on group behaviors that are only

successful when all of the cells

participate in unison and so now we have

a fancy name for this we call it Quorum

sensing they vote with these chemical

votes the vote gets counted and then

everybody responds to the vote and

what's important for today's talk is

that we know that there are hundreds of

behaviors that bacteria carry out in

these Collective

Fashions but the one that's probably the

most important to you is virulence so

it's not like a couple bacteria get in

you and then they start secreting some

toxins you're enormous that would have

no effect on you you're huge but what

they do we Now understand is they get in

you they wait they start growing they

count themselves with these little

molecules and they recognize when they

have the right cell number that if all

of the bacteria launch their virulence

attack together they're going to be

successful at overcoming an enormous

host so bacteria always control

pathogenicity with chorum sensing and so

that's how it works we also then went to

look at what are these molecules so

these were the red triangles on my

slides before and so this is the vibal

fisheri molecule this is the word that

it talks with and then we started to

look at other bacteria and these are

just a smattering of the molecules that

we've discovered and what I hope you can

see is that the molecules are related so

the leftand part of the molecule is

identical in every single species of

bacteria but but the right hand part of

the molecule is a little bit different

in every single species and what that

does is to confer Exquisite species

specificities to these languages so each

molecule fits into its partner receptor

and no other so these are private secret

conversations these conversations are

for intas species communication each

bacteria uses a particular molecule

that's it Lang its language that allows

it to count its own

siblings and so once we got that far we

thought we were starting to understand

that bacteria have these social

behaviors but we started what we were

really thinking about is that most of

the time bacteria don't live by

themselves they live in incredible

mixtures with hundreds or thousands of

other species of bacteria and that's

depicted on this slide this is your skin

so this is just a picture a micrograph

of your skin anywhere on your body it

looks pretty much like this and what I

hope you can see is that there's all

kinds of bacteria there and so we

started to think if this really is about

Communication in bacteria and it's about

counting your neighbors it's not enough

to be able to only talk within your

species there has to be a way to take a

census of the rest of the bacteria in

the population so we went back to

molecular biology and started studying

different bacteria and what we found now

is that in fact bacteria are

multilingual so they all have a species

specific system they have a molecule

that says me but then running in

parallel to that is a second system that

we've discovered that's generic so they

have a second enzyme that makes a second

signal and it has its own receptor and

this molecule is the trade language of

bacteria it's used by all different

bacteria and it's the language of inter

species communication and so what

happens is that bacteria are able to

count how many of me and how many of you

and they take that information inside

and they decide what tasks to carry out

depending on who's in the minority and

who's in the majority of Any Given

population and so then again we turn to

chemistry

and we figured out what this generic

molecule is so that was the pink ovals

on my last slide this is it it's a very

small five carbon molecule and what the

important thing is that we learned is

that every bacterium has exactly the

same enzyme and makes exactly the same

molecule so they're all using this

molecule for interspecies communication

so this is the bacterial espiranto

and so once we got that far we've

started to learn that bacteria can talk

to each other with this chemical

language but what we started think is

that maybe there's something practical

that we can do here as well so I've told

you that bacteria do have all these

social behaviors that they communicate

um with these molecules and of course

I've also told you that one of the

important things they do is to initiate

pathogenicity using corm sensing so we

thought what if we made these bacteria

so they can't talk or they can't hear

couldn't these be new kinds of

antibiotics and of course you've just

heard and you already know that we're

running out of antibiotics bacteria are

incredibly multi- drug resistant right

now and that's because all of the

antibiotics that we use kill bacteria so

they either pop the bacterial membrane

they make the bacterium so it can't

replicate its DNA we kill bacteria with

traditional antibiotics and that selects

for resistant mutants and so now of

course we have this Global problem in

infectious diseases so we thought well

what if we could sort of do Behavior

modifications just make these bacteria

so they can't talk they can't count and

they don't know to launch virulence and

so that's exactly what we've done and

we've sort of taken two strategies the

first one is we've targeted the intras

species communication system so we've

made molecules that look kind of like

the real molecules which you saw but

they're a little bit different and so

they lock into those receptors and they

Jam recognition of the real thing and so

by targeting the red system what we are

able to do is to make species specific

or disease specific anticor sensing

molecules we've also done the same thing

with the pink system we've taken that

Universal molecule and and turned it

around a little bit so that we've made

antagonists of the inter species

communication system and these the hope

is that these will be used as

broadspectrum antibiotics that work

against all bacteria and so to finish

I'll just show you the strategy and this

one I'm just using the inters species

molecule but the logic is exactly the

same so what you know is that when that

bacterium gets into the animal in this

case a mouse it doesn't initiate

virulence right away it gets in it

starts growing it starts secreting its

corn sensing molecules it recognizes

when it has enough bacteria that now

they're going to launch their attack and

the animal dies and so what we've been

able to do is to give these virulent

infections but we give them in

conjunction with our anti-m sensing

molecules so these are molecules that

look kind of like the real thing but

they're a little bit different which

I've depicted on this slide and what we

now know is that if we treat the animal

with a pathogenic bacterium a multi-drug

resistant pathogenic bacterium in the

same time we give our anti-m sensing MO

molecule in fact the animal lives and so

we think that this is the next

generation of antibiotics and it's going

to get us around at least initially this

big problem of resistance so what I hope

you think is that bacteria can talk to

each other they use chemicals as their

words they have an incredibly

complicated chemical lexicon that we're

just now starting to learn about and of

course what that allows bacteria to do

is to be multicellular right and so in

the spirit of Ted they are doing things

together because it makes a difference

right so what happens is that bacteria

have these Collective behaviors and they

can carry out tasks that they could

never accomplish if they simply acted as

individuals and and what I would hope

that I could further argue to you is

that this is the invention of

multicellularity bacteria have been on

the year uh on the earth for billions of

years humans couple hundred thousands so

we think bacteria made the rules for how

multicellular um organization works and

and we think by studying bacteria we're

going to be able to have insight about

multicellularity in the human body so we

know that the principles and the rules

if we can figure them out in these sort

of primitive organisms the hope is that

they will be applied to other human

diseases and human behaviors as

well I hope that what you've learned is

that bacteria can distinguish self from

others so by using these two molecules

they can say me and they can say you and

again of course that's what we do both

as mole in in a molecular way and then

also in an outward way but I think about

the molecular stuff this is exactly what

happens in your body it's not like your

heart cells and your kidney cells get

all mixed up every day and that's

because there's all of this chemistry

going on these molecules that say who

each of these groups of cells is and

what their tasks should be and so again

we think that bacteria invented that and

then you've just evolved a few more

bells and whistles but all of the ideas

are in these simple systems that we can

study and then the final thing is again

just to reiterate that there's this

practical part and so we've made these

anti form sensing molecules that are

being developed as new kinds of

Therapeutics but then to finish with a

plug for all the good and miraculous

bacteria that live on the earth we've

also made proor sensing molecules so

we've targeted those systems to make the

molecules work better and so remember

you have these 10 times or more

bacterial cells in you or on you keeping

you healthy what we're also trying to do

is to beef up the conversation of the

bacteria that live as mutualists with

you in the hopes of making you more

healthy making those conversations

better so bacteria can do things that we

want them to do by in better than they

would be on their own and then finally I

want to just show you this is my gang at

Princeton New Jersey everything I told

you about was discovered by someone in

that picture and I hope when you learn

things like about how the natural world

works I just want to say that whenever

you read something in the newspaper you

get to hear some talk about something

ridiculous in the natural world it was

done by a child so science is done by

that demographic they all of those

people are between 20 and 30 years old

and they are the engine that drives

scientific discovery in this country and

it's a really lucky demographic to work

with I keep getting older and older and

they're always the same age and it's

just an a crazy delightful job and I

want to thank you for inviting me here

it's a big treat for me to get to come

to this

conference thanks

than