Karen Nelson on microbial diversity
From We are not alone: The depths of the human superorganism | Karen Nelson | TEDxIEMadrid · · TEDxTalks
“We still estimate that we can only culture about one to two percent of all the microbes on the planet, but we have sequence technologies whereby we are able to look at all the genetic information of these microbes and understand what they're able to do.”
On , Karen Nelson, Chief Compliance Officer at American International Group, spoke about microbial diversity during We are not alone: The depths of the human superorganism | Karen Nelson | TEDxIEMadrid on TEDxTalks.
About Karen Nelson
Karen Nelson, a microbiologist and professor, has given talks on the human microbiome and attention research. In a 2018 TEDx talk, she described microorganisms as essential to human survival, noting that they account for more than half of Earth's biomass and reside in extreme environments. She stated that she sequenced the first human microbiome and discussed how microbes in the gut, skin, and oral cavity educate the immune system and are being investigated for correlations with diseases such as autism and schizophrenia. Nelson also mentioned that microbial signatures are being used in forensics to trace the origin of human trafficking victims and that commercial endeavors are using these signatures for new diagnostic approaches. In a 2020 talk, Nelson presented findings from a three-year study on attention, conducted through her commercial business that builds technology for data collection. She argued that traditional advertising impressions do not capture visibility or attention, and that attention varies considerably between platforms due to differences in screen coverage. Nelson advocated for a change in advertising currency, stating that low visibility can affect whether a brand is seen, and that time on screen helps attention even if the viewer does not look directly at the ad. She also noted that attention and memory are not the same thing, and that distinctive assets like colors and logos should be placed at higher attention peaks.