Strep, then, is Federle's territory, the platform he'll use to fund the rest of his career. Just as Bassler did when she started out, he'll find a research institution to fund a lab just for his work, and he'll write for grants to pay for ongoing operations. "Bonnie doesn't want anything to do with it," he says. "It's wise to find your own niche. I can't compete with Bonnie; she's a superstar."

Besides, making her students hack their own trails through the bacterial world encourages independent thinking, radical ideas - just what Bassler likes. She gives her researchers time and space to work out their own strategies and do their own experiments. The long leash isn't unheard of in science, but it isn't universal. "I came from a lab where I had to meet with someone every day, and it was easy to get lost in the details," Federle says. "I was really taking orders."

Twice a week, the lab's researchers take turns presenting their work to the group for critique and direction. In between, they go to Bassler for help when they're stuck, when they need ideas.

"She likes to think big ideas," Waters says. "Ideas that will change the way people think about bacteria. A lot of people in science get so focused on their little pieces - this little gene and this little protein. The real leaders change paradigms and set new ones. She's one of those people."

BASSLER'S ALARM rings at 5:42 every weekday morning. Bleary-eyed and grumbling, she makes her way to the YMCA to teach aerobics. She's been teaching aerobics for 23 years, and every day, she tells herself it's the last.