In Western society, bats are often characterized as creepy, even evil. Zoologist Emma Teeling encourages us to rethink our attitude toward bats, whose unique and fascinating biology gives us insight into our own genetic makeup. (Filmed at TEDxDublin.) TEDxDublin was hosted by Science Gallery at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on September 8th, 2012. www.TEDxDublin.com Dr. Emma Teeling is a leading international scientist in the cross-cutting fields of mammalian phylogenetics and comparative genomics, with particular expertise in bat biology. She is the Director of the Centre for Irish Bat Research (2008), a research team leader and a tenured Lecturer at University College Dublin. She has published over 50 internationally peer-reviewed papers, many in the top-ranking journals Science and Nature. Currently she is the recipient of a prestigious European Research Council Starting Grant (2012) and was the recipient of a Science Foundation Ireland, President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (2006). Her integrative research in the fields of comparative genomics and conservation biology uncovers the genetic signatures of survival that enables species to adapt to an ever-changing environment. The two mains goals of her research are: (1) study unique model species to enable a better understanding of the structure and function of the human genome to better inform medicine and molecular biology; (2) understand and therefore conserve, natural populations and environments to promote ecosystem well-being and functioning. Her integrative science stems from a multi-disciplinary education and research career. She received a Ph.D. in molecular phylogenetics at Queen's University, Belfast and the University of California, Riverside, USA (1997-2001). Excited by the potential of using evolutionary unique animals to enhance man's understanding of his own genome, Dr. Teeling completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Maryland USA (2002-2005). She returned to Ireland in 2005 to establish her integrative research group at UCD. More information is available at batlab.ucd.ie. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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