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Cyborg Cells Sense Humidity

Gadgetizer writes "Mark Peplow over at Nature.com published this story on 'Cellborg Technology' yesterday: "Living bacteria have been incorporated into an electronic circuit to produce a sensitive humidity gauge. The device unites microbe and machine, taking advantage of the properties of both to make for a supersensitive sensor. "As far as we know, this is the first report of using microorganisms to make an electronic device," says Ravi Saraf, a chemist from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, who developed the 'cellborg' with his student Vikas Berry."

16 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. I've always wondered... by GreyWolf3000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...how the original Borg came about. It all starts with harmless Cellborgs, then you link them to a massive interconnected network, and then they start thinking on their own. And then they take over.

    --
    Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
  2. I see the future by Chairboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    In the comics and movies, the cyborgs had super strength, could run fast, maybe shoot lasers out of their frickin' eyes, and so on.

    Science fiction has failed us yet again. It's clear that the real cyborgs will simply have great skill at predicting the weather.

    Go figure.

  3. Yeah, BUT... by gbutler69 · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...does it run Linux? And when will we have a Beowulf Cluster of these...aka Skynet....

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    Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
  4. Single cell is easy by tinrobot · · Score: 3, Funny

    I want to see them do it with a Chihuahua

  5. New book... by moviepig.com · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now at bookstores:

    Quality-Control In Microbial Manufacturing

    Chapter 1: Maintaining a dirty-room enivronment

    Chapter 2: Preventing evolution

    ...

    --
    Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
    1. Re:New book... by rocketman327 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Chapter 2: Preventing Evolution The proper way to prevent evolution is to deny its existence completely. Those bacteria are the same today as they were 6000 years when the earth formed. Don't believe what you hear about antibiotic resistant bacteria evolving, they were just hiding... If you suspect that your bacteria are "evolving" then find your closest non-believer. This non-believer is contaminating your bacteria sample...

  6. Overlords by brohan · · Score: 2, Funny

    I for one, welcome our bacterial overlords.

  7. Accurate readings? by StringBlade · · Score: 3, Funny
    What happens if the board gets a cold?

    Current humidity is 70 perce -- AH CHOO! -- 90 percent.

    --
    ...and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
  8. Inventors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Ravi Saraf, a chemist from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, who developed the 'cellborg' with his student Vikas Berry."

    Both the names Ravi Saraf and Vikas Berry are names from India!! WTH are they doing in the US when the /. crowd hates them so much...

  9. Wow, great invention by LeonGeeste · · Score: 5, Funny

    No one's ever come up with a way to gauge humidity before. This'll surely be more cost effective than all current alternatives.

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    Rank my idea: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/node/531
  10. Did anyone else misread that headline? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I first saw "Cyborg Cells Sense Humanity". I feared we had entered the age of human-detecting cyborgs.

  11. I wonder how long it will be... by Just-some-person · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...until we hear "Bacteria Have Rights Too!" (would be in all caps if! for the damn filter)

  12. NO!!! by spirit_fingers · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are farms, Neo, vast farms where bacteria are grown, to turn a germ into... THIS. [HOLDS UP HUMIDITY SENSOR]

  13. Pimp My Bacterium! by Easy2RememberNick · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... they washed the chip with a solution of gold particles, each of which measured about 30 nanometres across and was covered with peptides to help it stick to the bacteria.

    The resulting layer of gold nanoparticles bristling from each bacterium carries electrical currents through the device.


      Pimp my Bacterium!

      Whenever someone covers anything in gold I'd say it deserves the "Pimp My X" moniker.

  14. Re:slashdot's new motto by HishamMuhammad · · Score: 2, Funny

    Shouldn't it be:

    "Dupes for nerds. Stuff that repeats. Dupes for nerds."

    Ok, I admit I didn't even check to see if it was really a dupe. But I couldn't miss the joke. ;)

  15. Human rights by QuebecNerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is blatant exploitation of bacteria ;-) Nobody asked their permission, they have rights you know and if not they should...

    You know, someday we're going to come to that crossroad... Then , it may not be bacteria we'll talking about but other lifeforms more dear to us.