The Secret Life of Bacteria

Name: The Secret Life of Bacteria
Start: 2026-11-29T11:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-29T12:00:00+01:00
Location: Islands Brygge Bibliotek

Sun, 29 Nov 2026 · 11:00 — 12:00

Islands Brygge Bibliotek, Copenhagen · 50 kr. · ≈ 7 €

lecture family culture

The Secret Life of Bacteria · Islands Brygge Bibliotek, Copenhagen

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The Secret Life of Bacteria - family lecture: Sunday 29 November 2026, 11:00–12:00, Islands Brygge Bibliotek, Copenhagen. Tickets cost 50 kr.

Researcher Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi reveals the hidden world of bacteria - how they communicate, collaborate, and fight for survival despite being invisible to the naked eye. She shares her own journey into research, from childhood experiments to listening to bacterial whispers in the laboratory.

The lecture explores how bacteria's tiny signals might help detect diseases before we notice symptoms ourselves. This is a lecture for families with children aged 6-12.

About the venue: Islands Brygge Bibliotek

Islands Brygge Bibliotek on Njalsgade is a small public library that has occupied the same spot in the old part of the Islands Brygge neighbourhood since 1966. The single-room space houses both adult and children's sections, with shelves stocked with new titles. Beyond lending, the library runs reading clubs, author events, book cafés and regular children's activities such as storytelling and theatre. Self-service access is available every day 08:00-20:00; a health card is required outside staffed hours.

Njalsgade 15, 2300 København S Get directions

About: Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi

RUC associate professor and nanophysicist Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi has made the secret language of bacteria her life's work - from the TED stage to the lab and now to the page with 'Besat af bakterier'. Backed by the Lundbeck Foundation, she is developing a handheld diagnostic device capable of detecting dangerous infections from a single drop of blood.

1.3M+

TED Talk views in the first 3 months

#30

Forbes list of Europe's most influential under 30 in science and health

11M

kr. from Lundbeckfonden to the DECODE project

What's new

2026-05
Lundbeckfonden awards Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi 11 million kr. for the DECODE project, which will develop a diagnostic tool targeting three of WHO's most dangerous bacteria.
2026-03
The popular science book 'Possessed by Bacteria' is published by Politikens Forlag and receives positive reviews for making microbiology vivid and present.
2026-02
Roskilde University announces that Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi publishes a new book about bacteria's communication and social life.

Tracks

Hacking into the secret communication… of bacteriaTEDxAarhus 2018 talk, selected for TED.com - over 1.3 million views in the first 3 months

To detect diseases earlier, let's speak bacteria's secret languageTED Talk 2019, watched by millions around the world

Besat af bakterierPopular science book published by Politikens Forlag, March 2026

The Secret Life of Bacteria

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