Humans have long been adding technology
to their body to improve health, like pacemakers for example. But
scientists have recently announced the creation of a bit of technology
from a living system — they’ve made a computer in a cell.
Illustration of DNA (Image: Shutterstock.com)
Stanford University bioengineers made a transistor – the “transcriptor” – out of genetic material (DNA and RNA).
“Biological computers can be used to
study and reprogram living systems, monitor environments and improve
cellular therapeutics,” Drew Endy, assistant professor of bioengineering
and senior author of the paper published in the journal Science with
the lead author Jerome Bonnet, said in a statement.
