Connect with us

TED Talks

To detect diseases earlier, let’s speak bacteria’s secret language | Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi

Bacteria “talk” to each other, sending chemical information to coordinate attacks. What if we could listen to what they were saying? Nanophysicist Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi invented a tool to spy on bacterial chatter and translate their secret communication into human language. Her work could pave the way for early diagnosis of disease — before we…

Published

on

Bacteria “talk” to each other, sending chemical information to coordinate attacks. What if we could listen to what they were saying? Nanophysicist Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi invented a tool to spy on bacterial chatter and translate their secret communication into human language. Her work could pave the way for early diagnosis of disease — before we even get sick.

Get TED Talks recommended just for you! Learn more at .

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
26 Comments

26 Comments

  1. Ngoc Pham

    April 20, 2019 at 2:54 am

    It’s amazied talk. Her voice is cleanly and interresting. She is considering and activity.

    • Dominik S

      April 20, 2019 at 9:36 am

      what

  2. Doogy Dog

    April 20, 2019 at 3:07 am

    Because lyme is such a tricky infection to detect, perhaps this could help with earlier diagnosis. LYME must be treated almost immediately after infected, so this could be ground breaking!

  3. Has Hazer

    April 20, 2019 at 3:27 am

    BACTERIA HAS SWORDS

  4. Extreme

    April 20, 2019 at 3:46 am

    Wonderful work

  5. rifattigli23

    April 20, 2019 at 5:06 am

    very good work!

  6. l96ai

    April 20, 2019 at 5:33 am

    That last 6 minutes is heartbreaking!

  7. A. Latiwala

    April 20, 2019 at 5:50 am

    Your monologue though ?

  8. Stephane Dorion

    April 20, 2019 at 6:45 am

    What a good intro…
    Just look at the headdress and you’ll know who’s sick.

  9. El Kudos

    April 20, 2019 at 8:49 am

    About Jews?..

  10. judyslome1

    April 20, 2019 at 9:02 am

    This says that bacteria release signals before they seriously attack, and this women has tests that uncover bacteria’s early signalling before the culture is positive. Her reaction is to treat early with antibiotics. Antibiotics results in microbiome responding with more virulent strains. Perhaps there is an alternative to antibiotics. Maybe intermittent fasting- not eating for 12- 16- 20 ? hours per day, keeps the bacterial microbiome from fighting, or becoming virulent by making them thin out on a daily basis- instead of them reproducing more by making their food constantly available in high amounts. Could this explain why under-eating has always been associated with longevity?

  11. John Farris

    April 20, 2019 at 9:35 am

    SmarterEveryDay last two videos.

  12. Dominik S

    April 20, 2019 at 9:40 am

    Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi… I hate when my cat walks on my keyboard.

  13. Ti Mo

    April 20, 2019 at 9:47 am

    How can you dumb down a topic that much

  14. RechanRechan

    April 20, 2019 at 10:32 am

    This is so cool! Imagine if the devices are used in most hospitals, there would be many lives we could save!

  15. Muslima Hafiz

    April 20, 2019 at 10:45 am

    Truly astonishing! Such a breakthrough to medicine! Fatima, you made a mesmerizing research, which may help a billions of people with bacteria diseases to get a remedy?

  16. Haidy A.

    April 20, 2019 at 10:49 am

    That’s truly astonishing! Ma shaa Allah to you, what a great role model you are ?

  17. hashknight1

    April 20, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    amazing! we need more scientists like her to improve our current medical care. And also more budget towards medical research and not military &weapons development.

  18. FaithLehane

    April 20, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    Not only is the information in the lecture amazing but this is actually one of the best talks ever – easy to understand and remember and something we should all care about.

  19. taha pipino

    April 20, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    9 Things in the US That Puzzle Most Foreigners

  20. Mogul DaMongrel

    April 20, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    Why dont you just create a beneficial bacteria like penicillin that can reside within the human body preventing future diseases… you know like the ancients did before your time. Or is that to much in the way of your employeers big pharma

  21. Last Destroyer

    April 20, 2019 at 2:53 pm

    I can only focus on her not on what she talking ?

  22. Anshu TM

    April 20, 2019 at 3:11 pm

    I am grateful to you.
    Thank you.

  23. mohannad aljabri

    April 20, 2019 at 3:43 pm

    I watched this several months ago somewhere and good that this made it here! Good Job Fatima!

  24. HANS ARMSTARK

    April 20, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    Muslims are not welcome

  25. Alpha Centauri

    April 20, 2019 at 9:15 pm

    Send this tool to India. We need this. Congratulations for this breakthrough!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Science & Technology

Nuclear Power Is Our Best Hope To Ditch Fossil Fuels | Isabelle Boemeke @TED #tedtalks #ted

Isabelle Boemeke is the world’s first nuclear energy influencer. Watch her full TED Talk:

Published

on

Isabelle Boemeke is the world’s first nuclear energy influencer. Watch her full TED Talk:

Continue Reading

Science & Technology

Invisible AI, a personal time machine and more: A celebration of creativity from the TED conference

You’ve seen TED Talks before. Now, for the first time for free online, experience a full TED Session from our legendary conference. With mind-blowing talks from Lonneke Gordijn, Vinu Daniel, Misan Harriman, Melissa Villaseñor, Imran Chaudhri, Lucas Rizzotto and Ersin Han Ersin, get a glimpse of the wonder and connections sparked when big ideas come…

Published

on

You’ve seen TED Talks before. Now, for the first time for free online, experience a full TED Session from our legendary conference. With mind-blowing talks from Lonneke Gordijn, Vinu Daniel, Misan Harriman, Melissa Villaseñor, Imran Chaudhri, Lucas Rizzotto and Ersin Han Ersin, get a glimpse of the wonder and connections sparked when big ideas come into close proximity with each other. Hosted by poet Sarah Kay and TED’s Helen Walters with a special appearance by architect Bjarke Ingels. (Filmed at Session 11 of TED2023 in Vancouver, BC, Canada on April 20, 2023)

Inspired by this session of TED Talks? Become a TED Member today for members-only access to 90 minutes of new talks from the upcoming TED2024 stage, plus year-round benefits:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDSession #TEDTalks

Continue Reading

People & Blogs

3 Steps to Better Connect With Your Fellow Humans | Amber Cabral | TED

How can you effectively support people at work and in your community, especially when they’re different from you? Inclusion strategist Amber Cabral shares three steps you can take to build connection — emphasizing that even small, everyday actions can make a big difference to those around you. If you love watching TED Talks like this…

Published

on

How can you effectively support people at work and in your community, especially when they’re different from you? Inclusion strategist Amber Cabral shares three steps you can take to build connection — emphasizing that even small, everyday actions can make a big difference to those around you.

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #community

Continue Reading

Trending