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Basic Computing Elements Created in Bacteria

posted by takyon on Sunday July 12 2015, @03:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the gut-feeling dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

The "friendly" bacteria inside our digestive systems are being given an upgrade, which may one day allow them to be programmed to detect and ultimately treat diseases such as colon cancer and immune disorders.

In a paper published in the journal Cell Systems, researchers at MIT unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.

These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut, with future applications that might include the early detection and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer.

Researchers have previously built genetic circuits inside model organisms such as E. coli. However, such strains are only found at low levels within the human gut, according to Timothy Lu, an associate professor of biological engineering and of electrical engineering and computer science, who led the research alongside Christopher Voigt, a professor of biological engineering at MIT.

You can see it now, can't you? "Dave...I'm not comfortable with the pizza you ate, Dave. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over."

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @04:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @04:10PM (#208163)

    Probably not a very great idea to tamper with such a vital "organ". The gut flora contains more cells than the human body. And it has much more generic material. And if provides critical utility. Also, it might be illegal.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonisation_resistance [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_subject_research_legislation_in_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @05:33PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @05:33PM (#208184)

    Not illegal when tested on non-humans. Seriously dangerous if let out of the lab uncontrolled and insufficiently understood.

    Also, potentially as significant as the discovery of penicillin, if they get it right.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @07:28PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @07:28PM (#208223)

    That's what people thought when medicine was making it's baby steps in surgery. Chances are that you or someone close to you is alive because the fearmongers didn't succeed.