Watch one of the TED talks posted here and write a 1-1.5 page reflection (1.5-spaced)briefly discussing the following:
• The reason you selected that particular talk: What interested you about the talk? How does it relate to your needs and interests?
• The science: What were the main findings or key points presented by the speaker(s).
• The speaker’s presentation style: What engaged you? What did not? Discuss traits or techniques you would like to emulate, and any traits you would like to avoid.
How Bacteria “talk” Reflection
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
How Bacteria “talk” Reflection
Reason for Choosing the Talk:
I selected the talk about how bacteria talk because I have a strong interest in scientific discoveries and new medical drugs. The talk was able to highlight how bacteria communicate and explained the possibility of creating new drugs to treat medical conditions. The talk relates strongly with my interests and needs to become an innovative medical researcher and medical laboratory technician. The presentation would expound on a core subject in my future career interest and goals. Therefore, I selected the presentation to understand the nature of bacteria and how the bacteria communicate well.
The Science:
The main findings from the speech were that bacteria have a chemical language that enables them to talk to each other. The example of Vibrio Fischeri bacteria given in the speech was that when bacteria were in a community they were able to create light. The chemical words used by the bacteria to communicate with each for defense or protection purposes. There is usually intraspecies communication that helps in counting siblings (Bassler, 2009. She discovered that that bacterium have social behavior that helps to communicate well. All bacteria are multi-lingual and they rely on the intraspecies signal to communicate amongst the different bacteria in their location. The intraspecies signal is the molecule that helps in the communication.
She also determined that bacteria molecule can be altered to make it difficult for the bacteria to launch virulence that leads to diseases. Anti-quorum sensing molecules could be used to treat drug-resistant bacteria. It is possible to develop strategy that restricts or improves the quorum sensing program. Such a strategy would be helpful in dealing with the bacteria that causes illnesses. The speech discovered that bacteria can talk to each other, they are multi-cellular, and they can distinguish between the varied bacterium. The study of bacteria is important in understanding the concept of multi-cellular, which is useful in discovering new drugs to treat drug-resistant conditions. Such discoveries would be helpful in shaping long-term strategy to treat medical conditions and illnesses.
Speaker’s Presentation Style:
Some of the things that engaged me while Bonnie was giving her speech on how bacteria talks is how she used more pictures and less text information to explain the clear concepts. She was also confident and strong as she presented the ideas through proper designs. During presentations, the audience would be bored with reading detailed texts, which are not visible. The presentation was highly visible and well-illustrated to communicate the message about the subject on the communication of bacteria. The great presentations were designed in artistic manner. It seems that she had delegated the work to a professional presentation designer as it was comprehensive and simple to understand. The images helped to increase concentration and reduce fatigue with additional texts during the speech.
She also used body language in the presentation. The common body language she used was hand gestures, maintaining eye contact with audience, and nodding. The non-verbal communication made it possible to reinforce the verbal messages. Her movement on the stage was also effective as she explained the ideas. The voice tone was also extremely efficient in promoting communication of the biological ideas. She was able to present the ideas and information through telling personalized stories. In the future, I would love to emulate some of her traits and techniques including ability to use quality pictures and images to communicate the message. I would also use the non-verbal communication tactics to communicate effectively. However, I might avoid the use of exaggerated stories and ideas that do not align with the core subject. Therefore, the speaker’s presentation was effective and excellent based on the communication techniques used.
Reference
Bassler, B. (2009, February). How bacteria “talk”. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate#t-1060540v.
