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Bacteria Made to Behave as Computers

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the weekly-staph-meetings dept.

hende_jman writes "Scientists at Princeton University successfully 'programmed bacteria to behave like computers, assembling themselves into complex shapes based on instructions stuffed into their genes.' Though applications may not come for awhile, the article says that in the future this technology may be used in devices to detect bioterrorism chemicals. The article also has pictures of the programmed E. coli."

5 of 303 comments (clear)

  1. Blood Music? by Scud · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Anybody else have visions of the Greg Bear book "Blood Music" when you read this?

    http://www.allscifi.com/Topics/info_5673.asp?BSID= 17562821

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    I dream in binary.
  2. Virus by AFairlyNormalPerson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All they need to do now is do this to a virus... then maybe we can give the virus a virus. Kinda funny, but it would be cool if it led to the desctuction of aids.

  3. Re:Prey? by Spy+Hunter · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Anyone else read "Prey" by Micheal Crichton?

    Yeah, and I feel stupider just for having done so. It reads like a bad novelization of a "major motion picture". As I read the book, I could just see Crichton sitting there thinking "OK, now I'll write in a couple cool CG special-effects shots for the movie".

    I hear the movie deal was done before the book even came out. Unfortunately the plot and characters were overlooked, there's not a shred of originality in the whole thing. And the science doesn't even bear talking about.

    I liked Jurassic Park, and Sphere was awesome, but his latest stuff is just trash. Crichton should just admit he knows very little about real science and go back to writing enjoyable science fiction that doesn't pretend to be a commentary on society's faith in technology and the scientific community.

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    main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
  4. Re:+1 Amerikkka the victim by Trent05 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are you kidding, look at all the websites around the net. I live in a fascist dictatorship. The leader of my country is right up there with Hitler, the third biggest mass murder in history (Stalin & Mao Tse Tung taking the top two spots). To top that, I live in fear of the USA Patriot Act. That means I can be arrested by just PLANNING on blowing up buildings/landmarks/petting zoos. I tell you, the rest of the world has it pretty sweet compared to the toil of your average American's day-to-day life.

    Seriously though, I sure as hell won't defend everything the US has done, but the mindless US-bashing is ridiculous.

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    The Marines: The few, the proud, the not very bright. - Slashdot tagline 04/21/05
  5. Re:good think you didn't mod by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm with you. I love my country and I always will, but I'm ashamed of its government.