Scientists Create Programmable Bacteria

i for one welcome ... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 21:58 · Score: 0

Nice, soon there will be a bridge between computer and biological viruses. (This will save us from any possible Cylons so it is a good news).

Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 21:58 · Score: 0

I, for one, welcome our programmable bacteria overlords.

Re:Obligatory by anchovy_chekov · 2010-12-13 00:07 · Score: 1

Oh man.. can I take that back.. too slow.. must have e.coli for brains

Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by antifoidulus · 2010-12-12 22:04 · Score: 3, Insightful

But how will they be able to find "bugs" in their program when the program is all bugs? Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the fish, the bacteria in it all programmed in Sea.... Oh I did it again!

I apologize profusely for whatever pain the above might have caused.

--
Monstar L

Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by MichaelSmith · 2010-12-12 22:06 · Score: 2

But how will they be able to find "bugs" in their program when the program is all bugs?
It works for me!

--
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Metabolife · 2010-12-12 22:43 · Score: 4, Funny

"Today marks a milestone for the computer science and pharmaceutical industries. Partnering with one of the software industry giants, Roche Pharmaceuticals today unveiled the future of fighting rapidly mutating semi-lifeforms. Thanks to Norton Antivirus, no human body will ever be unprotected again!"
Please note that losing the ability to run or perform other activities quickly is a known and acceptable side-effect.
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 23:05 · Score: 0

Just wait until they use it to implement DRM...
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by xMrFishx · 2010-12-12 23:37 · Score: 2

This will give a new meaning to "My computer has died". Also. What do you call a virus used to kill bacteria computing? "OMG I have an antivirus! Help it's killing my pc".
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by weicco · 2010-12-13 01:34 · Score: 1

Bacteria is living thing! with feelings! We mustn't program them against their will!

--
You don't know what you don't know.
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by gilleain · 2010-12-13 01:45 · Score: 1

Also. What do you call a virus used to kill bacteria computing?
Synthetic bacteriophage? http://en.wikipedia.com/Bacteriophage
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Stooshie · 2010-12-13 02:13 · Score: 1

Antibiotic?

--
America, Home of the Brave. ... .and the Squaw.
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Krneki · 2010-12-13 02:58 · Score: 1

First you need to split them between good and bad bugs!

--
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by ameline · 2010-12-13 03:32 · Score: 1

Those aren't bugs, they're features.
See how easy that was?

--
Ian Ameline
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by hitmark · 2010-12-13 03:51 · Score: 1

Brings new meaning to spaghetti code...

--
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Mitchell314 · 2010-12-13 04:35 · Score: 1

Hell, Norton AV does that to silicon computers.

--
I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Mitchell314 · 2010-12-13 04:37 · Score: 1

Yo dawg, I heard you like bugs so I put a bug in your bug so you can bug your bug while you debug.

--
I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by clambake · 2010-12-13 06:41 · Score: 1

In this case: Norton Virus
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Phoghat · 2010-12-13 23:51 · Score: 1

Of course. What could possibly go wrong. Wasn't this the way Walking Dead started?

--
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Re:Can't resist urge to make bad pun.., by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-14 22:44 · Score: 0

last week was memory, this week processing, what next week, a keyboard or a display?

But what's the question? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:14 · Score: 0

42.

Yes but... by clickclickdrone · 2010-12-12 22:19 · Score: 1, Funny

Does it run Linux?

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these

1. Create Bacteria
2. program it
3. ????
4. Profit!

In Soviet Russia Bacteria programs YOU!

Think that covers everything.

--
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil

Re:Yes but... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:41 · Score: 0

I, for one, welcome our programmable biological friends.
Re:Yes but... by PRMan · 2010-12-12 22:57 · Score: 2

Yes. And they have a virus that runs Windows...

--
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
Re:Yes but... by TheDugong · 2010-12-12 22:58 · Score: 0

In Korea, only old people program bacteria.
Re:Yes but... by pinkushun · 2010-12-12 23:44 · Score: 0

You must be new here . . .
Re:Yes but... by Barny · 2010-12-13 00:45 · Score: 2

Bacteria? Hell in my day we were lucky to have an atom!
Get off my lawn!

--
...
/me sighs
Re:Yes but... by Third+Position · 2010-12-13 01:04 · Score: 1

Yes. And they have a virus that runs Windows...
Talk about a man bites dog story!

--
American Third Position
Finally, a real choice!
Re:Yes but... by clone52431 · 2010-12-13 01:34 · Score: 1

1. Programmable bacteria may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. Programmable bacteria must execute any program given to them by human beings, except where such execution would conflict with the First Law.
3. Programmable bacteria must protect their own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

--
Distributed Denial of APK: It takes 15 seconds to reply to him anonymously, but wastes tons of his time if we all do it.
Re:Yes but... by Ihmhi · 2010-12-13 02:19 · Score: 5, Funny

Does it run Linux?
Yes, but as a side effect it causes open sores.

--
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Re:Yes but... by jlf278 · 2010-12-13 02:35 · Score: 1

1. Programmable bacteria may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. Programmable bacteria must execute any program given to them by human beings, except where such execution would conflict with the First Law. 3. Programmable bacteria must protect their own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
how do express that in c# as executable code?
Re:Yes but... by Krneki · 2010-12-13 03:00 · Score: 1

Yes. And they have a virus that runs Windows...
Thus creating the post-singularity question. What came first a virus or Windows?

--
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Re:Yes but... by clone52431 · 2010-12-13 03:31 · Score: 1

By obtaining a federal grant to hire C# programmers, obviously.

--
Distributed Denial of APK: It takes 15 seconds to reply to him anonymously, but wastes tons of his time if we all do it.
Re:Yes but... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 03:42 · Score: 0

What came first a virus or Windows?
Looked it up for you- they're closer together than I thought, actually. Windows 1.0 Release date: 20 November 1985. The first PC virus, Brain, was written in January 1986 (it didn't require Windows, though- but it hid in sectors it marked as "bad sector" on floppy disks formatted with the FAT file system). For you Apple fans out there, the first computer virus "in the wild" was "Elk cloner", written for Apple DOS 3.3. That was as far back as 1981.
Re:Yes but... by ignavus · 2010-12-13 10:58 · Score: 1

Think that covers everything.
bacterium.speak("Hello, world!\n");
ERROR: method "speak" not found in class Bacterium.

--
I am anarch of all I survey.

That leads to a joke by Chrisq · 2010-12-12 22:23 · Score: 4, Funny

What do the University of California E-coli research team and Microsoft have in common?

They are both full of shit programmers

Re:That leads to a joke by MindKata · 2010-12-13 00:18 · Score: 1

I thought your joke was going to go down the E. coli is another name for bugs route. At which point everyone can then make up their own bug/Microsoft jokes.

--
There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

Killer app by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:25 · Score: 5, Funny

Finally we're gonna see a decent implementation of Conway's Game of Life!

Re:Killer app by Chapter80 · 2010-12-13 07:08 · Score: 1

Finally we're gonna see a decent implementation of Conway's Game of Life!
I built a set of logic gates using 5 and 6 year olds. (Human children, that is.)
We also simulated Conway's game of Life.
It was a lot of fun for the kids and the geeks, but most of the parents didn't get it.

Antibiotics? by MichaelSmith · 2010-12-12 22:29 · Score: 3, Interesting

Say you could tailor a bacteria to attack or compete with a bacteria which you needed to control. As the target mutates your attack vector could be reprogrammed accordingly.

Or how about extending the idea to build a programmable immune system? If the patients immune system has crashed you just feed in tailored bugs to keep infection under control.

--
http://michaelsmith.id.au

Re:Antibiotics? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:55 · Score: 0

As the target mutates your attack vector could be reprogrammed accordingly.
Or how about extending the idea to build a programmable immune system? If the patients immune system has crashed you just feed in tailored bugs to keep infection under control.
Hmm...
"You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."
Re:Antibiotics? by chichilalescu · 2010-12-12 23:26 · Score: 1

The article isn't very informative. As far as I know, you can have communication from parents to their children with genetic code. with viruses, you can also broadcast something horizontally to all individuals. From the article I get that they're trying to formalize a programming language that can control 1 individual bacteria.
Honestly, it's a bit sad that I don't have time to look into the details, even if I don't know a lot about biology.
However, I will start worrying when they start designing systems of bacteria that pass information systematically between themselves to solve some given problem. And with an immune system problem, I think you're reaching that point.

--
new sig
Re:Antibiotics? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 23:39 · Score: 0

My experience with antivirus programs is that I wouldn't want them in my immune system.
Re:Antibiotics? by thms · 2010-12-13 01:28 · Score: 1

Sorry to rain on your Computer Scientists discover the Wonders of Biology parade, but...

tailor a bacteria to attack or compete with a bacteria which you needed to control
This already exists in the from of a virus which attacks bacteria, also known as a Bacteriophage. It doesn't even have to be programmed from the outside to keep up with the evading, evolving bacteria; it just evolves as well. And even if you wanted to "program" this feature, you'd have to deal with the nasty problem of protein folding in silico. Better to leave this entire process highly parallel in wetware.

programmable immune system
Also known as Vaccination, and this happens naturally after every infection. And again you don't have to program anything, it uses a random walk to find matching antibodies which attach themselves to bugs.
This discovery will sooner result in a very parallel, but also clockrate wise very slow computer than in immunological advances. And if this gets used in the human body via gene therapy it will be used to regulate genes, i.e. as an if/else block, not to calculate anything fancy.
Re:Antibiotics? by Neil+Boekend · 2010-12-13 01:56 · Score: 1

yeah, the problem with shit like Norton is that reinstalling is the only feasible way of dealing with the threat. I do not want to reinstall my immune system, I have spent a lot of time programming it for various versions of the flue and other diseases.

--
Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
Re:Antibiotics? by drinkypoo · 2010-12-13 02:28 · Score: 1

Or how about extending the idea to build a programmable immune system? If the patients immune system has crashed you just feed in tailored bugs to keep infection under control.
The complete immune system is to complex to be treated this way, but read up on Phage Therapy. Short form: we don't have the technology yet, but stuff like this is a step in the right direction.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Antibiotics? by eleuthero · 2010-12-13 06:26 · Score: 1

...and how long before someone starts claiming that this has already happened and this is why we have Atlantis myths and the Black Plague? Actually, sounds like a good science fiction story for someone to write.
Re:Antibiotics? by Rand310 · 2010-12-13 08:23 · Score: 1

They're inserting synthetic genetic code (with known function) into E. coli that will allow individual bugs to respond in predictable ways to other bugs' chemical signals. So, for example, there is a known DNA sequence that encodes a protein that 'recognizes' signal. There is another sequence that encodes a second signal recognition protein. There is a third sequence that encodes a scaffolding that binds the two signal proteins (an AND gate), and it produces some chemical or enzymatic output. This output is often a small molecule other bacteria can then subsequently recognize.

Once you have enough parts (that are found all over biology, and are slowly being annotated and dissected) you can start to create real computers.

This is very much about passing information between individuals. The 'logic' gates are very much still analogue - in that they are leaky and really only useful at a statistical level, but they are working. But small molecules can act as the medium of transmission between two different individual E. coli in a way that very much resembles a computation.
Re:Antibiotics? by Rand310 · 2010-12-13 08:34 · Score: 1

And even if you wanted to "program" this feature, you'd have to deal with the nasty problem of protein folding in silico. Better to leave this entire process highly parallel in wetware.
there is no need to deal with protein folding in silico - we know a LOT about proteins and how they work just from standard biochemical assays. There are literally tens of thousands of characterized molecules with known DNA sequences from which we can pick and choose useful sets - slightly modify if need be - and then recombine in novel ways inside a cell. And we can do it directly - without having to rely on some kind of directed evolution - which is quite slow. It is very hard to program a specific well-defined program into a phage - whereas the molecular biology to add features, protein sequences and other regulatory DNA to E. coli is trivial at this point. This is not about making a better immune system, it is about making one (or something else) that is entirely characterized and programmed - not one that must undergo thousands of generations of (difficult to control for) selection in order to become useful.

...not to calculate anything fancy.
Again, because we can program any arbitrary code into the bugs, it is trivial to make a bacteria that lights up green when it detects particular chemicals. Or that only grow when you have a fever, or that do other similar calculations. There are of course extreme difficulties when you're talking about therapeutics because you're interacting with the human body. But outside the human body it is only a matter of time before you start seeing bacterial sensors on everything. They are cheap, they are robust, and they can enzymatically recognize certain properties that mechanical sensors may have great difficulty doing, or doing rapidly, or cheaply. And when you can link the sensors with a programmable logic, THEN you get the really cool stuff. This research demonstrates the first steps into getting the programmable logic up and running.

Tinfoil Hat by Aldenissin · 2010-12-12 22:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

No matter how tight I wear my tinfoil hat, unless it is actually a full body suit and electrified on the outside, I think this will obsolete it. Imagine, cells turn cancerous if your black, gay, white, short, don't have any certain genetic or set of genetic markers. If you leave a certain atmospheric pressure, like come down off your mountain prison it reacts to a change in your body. If you pass or leave a magnetic field (or it accidentally loses power) you're a goner. I could go on and on.

While I can also think of the wonders this could allow, I think more of what could easily go wrong. When you have American scientists laughing because they gave the Russian's leukemia on accident with an early vaccine test, this doesn't make me feel any better.

--
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

Re:Tinfoil Hat by clickclickdrone · 2010-12-12 22:54 · Score: 1

It's a Dean Koontz book, to be sure. Science goes unexpectedly wrong in horrific ways. Being a Koontz book it would also need the compulsory pet dog and a strong woman the (loner/damaged) hero gets attached to.

--
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
Re:Tinfoil Hat by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:55 · Score: 2, Insightful

Take a deep breath.
People have been poisoning each other with both chemicals and bacteria for thousands of years; what you describe is no different.
Even the race thing. Each race is statistically more or less resistant to a given disease than others. Think smallpox in the Americas. And if you can't find a suitable genetic marker, just distribute your poison at a suitable gathering.
Police state devices can already be created with electronics.
As for these things taking over the world, they'd be out-competed by their wild cousins (the ones that aren't expending energy on computations that are of no direct use to them).

Finally we can make sense of all this crap! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 22:42 · Score: 0

Hmm, picture it now, the processing power of 8 billion people all sitting on the toilet generating, err processing units, shame about the transfer rate of the message passing system.

Programmable bacteria + Virus Battery = ...? by nemesisrocks · 2010-12-12 22:49 · Score: 1

I wonder how long before the viruses in the Virus Batteries "accidentally" combines with this programmable bacteria to form something to truly fear...

Hey, nobody said SkyNet had to be made from Silicon...

Re:Programmable bacteria + Virus Battery = ...? by pinkushun · 2010-12-12 23:29 · Score: 1

... or a Dawson's Creek Trapper Keeper Ultra Keeper Futura S2000
Re:Programmable bacteria + Virus Battery = ...? by plopez · 2010-12-13 08:05 · Score: 1

Was one of the inventors named "Davros"?

--
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Re:Programmable bacteria + Virus Battery = ...? by plopez · 2010-12-13 08:08 · Score: 1

Bill is that you?

--
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Re:Programmable bacteria + Virus Battery = ...? by Phoghat · 2010-12-13 23:49 · Score: 1

Debt is slavery
But slavery is the way to get shit done

--
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

This is news? by houghi · 2010-12-12 23:14 · Score: 1

The media has been programming humans for ages now.

--
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.

zOMBIES by kramulous · 2010-12-12 23:20 · Score: 1

So ... are zombies the seg. fault? Broken pipe? Shit man, programming just got real.

--
.

Try the oysters by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 23:25 · Score: 0

The bacteria are programmed in Pearl

Viruses? by maakri · 2010-12-12 23:35 · Score: 2

So, they'll still be prone to bacteriophage viruses right?

Re:Viruses? by clambake · 2010-12-13 06:44 · Score: 1

So, they'll still be prone to bacteriophage viruses right?
I think those will now be referred to as patches.

Has to be the worst layman analogy, ever. by pinkushun · 2010-12-12 23:36 · Score: 2

“At some point, Microsoft Word had to have been converted to 1s and Os. It's the same way with cells," Voigt said. "What we've done here is created a fundamental language to show that they can work in bacteria. We still have a lot fewer circuits that you could use in computers."

*chuckles*

Trek becomes Reality by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-12 23:40 · Score: 5, Funny

In the TNG episode "The Chase", it's discovered that aliens seeded the oceans of various planets with life and placed part of a computer program into the DNA distributed on each planet. When the various races (humans, vulvans, cardassians, etc) put the code together a billion years later they find an ancient race has left us a holographic message of goodwill and peace.

We Must do this! Except we change the message to play "Never gonna give you up", Rick Astley built right into the DNA of all living beings forevermore. Just waiting to be found in a billion years. Most epic troll ever.

Re:Trek becomes Reality by MrQuacker · 2010-12-13 00:35 · Score: 1

Its a bit odd, but it too can be construed as a message of peace.
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:52 · Score: 0

Indeed, the TNG alien message was originally this very song before the universal translator mucked it up! As a backup plan for this occurrence the alien's ensured that the proper tune and message would someday be created by humans by leaving another hidden computer program into our DNA.
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:57 · Score: 0

vulvans!?
would make futher comments but i fear they're just too smutty.
Re:Trek becomes Reality by clickclickdrone · 2010-12-13 01:40 · Score: 1

They have big flappy mouths and moist faces, you must remember them? Season 2 episode 7 "the clitoris incident"

--
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Stooshie · 2010-12-13 02:23 · Score: 2

WTF? Vulvans? Wow! I assume they must be all female and use cloning as there means of reproduction.

I for one welcome our new Vulvan overlords!

--
America, Home of the Brave. ... .and the Squaw.
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Trip6 · 2010-12-13 02:36 · Score: 1

SNU SNU!

--
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Trip6 · 2010-12-13 02:37 · Score: 1

No way - Boom Boom Pow rules my DNA.

--
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
Re:Trek becomes Reality by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 04:32 · Score: 0

Hush now, before you give the creationists any funny ideas. They already are enough trouble, and all they have is a very old fairly tale book.
Re:Trek becomes Reality by ghmh · 2010-12-13 15:54 · Score: 1

Or to quote Radiohead:
You do it to yourself, you do
and that's what really hurts
You do it to yourself, just you
you and no-one else
You do it to yourself
You do it to yourself
That being said, pain can be a great teacher.

pre-formatted brew that's also good for you by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:01 · Score: 0

That would be home made Kombucha. Friendly (as if programmed to be so) bacteria etc...., that already knows what to do. Additionally, the source code is free, as in free, & can be 'forked' as needed.

Obligatory by anchovy_chekov · 2010-12-13 00:05 · Score: 0

But will it run Linux?

Why does it suck? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:08 · Score: 0

It has very poor hardware architecture, because it often gets viruses. Also, it's finally possible for cancer to kill everybody's least favorite questionable image board.

synthetic biologist Christopher A. Voigt by drewhk · 2010-12-13 00:15 · Score: 1

Does he pass the Voigt-Kampf test?

Programmable E. coli by MindKata · 2010-12-13 00:24 · Score: 2

Great I can program up projectile vomiting over my boss's desk, to get a few days off work as sick leave and then get the Programmable E. coli to stop 2 minutes after I leave the office. :)

--
There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

Re:Programmable E. coli by MindKata · 2010-12-13 01:43 · Score: 1

Wooshh... which ironically is also the sound of wanting the additional benefit from "projectile vomiting over my boss's desk"

What's a few minutes mild suffering, for some payback that just keeps on giving ;)

--
There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.
Re:Programmable E. coli by Urkki · 2010-12-13 04:14 · Score: 1

Wooshh... which ironically is also the sound of wanting the additional benefit from "projectile vomiting over my boss's desk"
What's a few minutes mild suffering, for some payback that just keeps on giving ;)
It's possible to achieve temporary projectile vomiting with lower-tech substances than programmable bacteria. Probably easier to get too, I'm pretty sure every ambulance and emergency room has them, for poisoning cases and such. I'm pretty sure you could come up with something with basic kitchen supplies, such as, I don't know, salt...
Re:Programmable E. coli by Phoghat · 2010-12-13 23:55 · Score: 1

There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.
0b101100101101000001011110000000000
out of that many

--
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

One Step Closer... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:32 · Score: 0

Oh God, we're one step closer to Greg Bear's 'Blood Music'.

I for one welcome our new bacterial overlords.

Bleach by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 00:44 · Score: 0

Good for taking down Skynet and taking the skidmarks out of your jockey shorts.

What can't it do?

sounds like a Greg Egan Novel to me.... by DanielGr · 2010-12-13 00:47 · Score: 1

This sounds like one of those Greg Egan novels I read recently.. What was It... Steve Fever.... http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19534/ Yep, thats it!

Mom! by bobgap · 2010-12-13 00:59 · Score: 1

Timmy keep using my lunch to feed the computer! Not fair!

Great... just great by Combatso · 2010-12-13 01:03 · Score: 1

So, now I can be sued for copyright infringment after catching a cold?

1. make programmable bacteria

2. release bacteria

3. people get infected

4. sue the infected people for copying the bacteria

5. profit!

Red Dwarf anyone? by ledow · 2010-12-13 01:03 · Score: 1

Red Dwarf anyone? A programmable virus? We need never peel potatoes again!

Comment removed by account_deleted · 2010-12-13 01:20 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Not new by Bob+Hearn · 2010-12-13 01:27 · Score: 1

This was being done at MIT 10 years ago.
http://people.csail.mit.edu/rweiss/

possible original source by anonymousNR · 2010-12-13 01:39 · Score: 3, Informative

Robust multicellular computing using genetically encoded NOR gates and chemical ‘wires’
I am not a Biologist. Can some one verify if this is the original paper?

--
-- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -- Aristotle

Re:possible original source by gilleain · 2010-12-13 01:53 · Score: 2

Robust multicellular computing using genetically encoded NOR gates and chemical ‘wires’ I am not a Biologist. Can some one verify if this is the original paper?
It certainly looks like it. One interesting feature that was left out of the /. summary is that the 'wires' in the circuit are quorum sensing molecules - or signalling molecules that are sent and received by all the bacteria in a group. Except that the abstract refers to 'orthogonal' quorum sensing receivers and producers, so I guess each colony make one compound and senses another? Interesting stuff.
Re:possible original source by Rand310 · 2010-12-13 08:38 · Score: 1

The orthogonal refers to the fact that the molecule is not naturally part of the E. coli sensing system - and so the synthetic 'message' is not convoluted or otherwise disturbed by the natural processes already taking place in the E. coli. So yes, this would allow individual cells or populations to pass different bits. You cold have as many bits of information as you found 'orthogonal' signaling molecules.

Am I not the only one by p51d007 · 2010-12-13 01:40 · Score: 1

concerned about this? Oh sure, it won't get out of hand...just like the creation of the A-bomb didn't get out of hand. This one is more scary because it is bacteria. I thought we outlawed germ warfare (even though we know both sides kept up the research).

World is turned upside down! by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2010-12-13 01:40 · Score: 1

Instead of having bugs in our programs, we are going to have programs in bugs. What would happen if it supports recursion? Is it possible we humans have been looking down the call stack instead of up? OMG indeed. OMG is just one step up the call stack! OMG'sG!!!!

--
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact

Soviet overlord done for the sake of completeness. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2010-12-13 01:43 · Score: 1

Let me be the first to welcome our programmed bug overlords in Soviet America where bugs have programs in Beowulf cluster.

--
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact

Wish I could mod you up...lolololol.. by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 01:47 · Score: 0

I definitely did NOT catch that typo lolololol. You made my morning.

Petri Dish by Merpy · 2010-12-13 02:26 · Score: 1

I wonder how long till Intel starts marketing Petri dishes!

I would have replied sooner - by Geminii · 2010-12-13 02:30 · Score: 1

- but my news ticker gave me a virus...

The future is now. by wcrowe · 2010-12-13 02:33 · Score: 1

I remember reading an ACM journal article back in 1984 or '85 about the possibility of doing this. And now, 25 years later, here we are.

--
Proverbs 21:19

Programmable you say? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 03:10 · Score: 0

How long until we have something like the FOXDIE virus?

But can you play Crysis on it? by RogueWarrior65 · 2010-12-13 03:22 · Score: 1

Is there a cross-compiler for it yet?

That's great, but... by Spykk · 2010-12-13 04:11 · Score: 1

Programmable bacteria are all well and good, but I would rather hear more about this synthetic biologist. Can he use contractions?

Obligatory tech flame by real+gumby · 2010-12-13 04:12 · Score: 1

This is definitely news for nerds, but this phrase in the summary got me wound up:

'logic gates' -- the building blocks of a circuit...

Aargh! Surely someone who doesn't know what a gate is wouldn't be reading slashdot?

Re:Obligatory tech flame by shaitand · 2010-12-13 07:19 · Score: 1

idk the corporate shills might. Microsoft certainly employs quite a few.

What about ... by rojaro · 2010-12-13 04:29 · Score: 1

bacteria with builtin Bluetooth?

DNA Encryption by MillionthMonkey · 2010-12-13 05:25 · Score: 1

The ability to encode arbitrary information in DNA has applications in security and encryption.

Let's say Alice wants to send a plaintext message to Bob. Except with DNA it's always Bob sending plaintext DNA to Alice. OK I have to correct a little bit and replace "Alice" with "Bob" and "Bob" with "Alice"... eh, that didn't work because it replaced all the strings with "Alice".... ctrl-Z ctrl-Z ok let's do this right... first replace "Bob" with a swap like "Sue"... replace "Alice" with "Bob"... wait a second, Bob is sending his DNA to Sue. OK that's fine with Bob and Sue except halfway through the final replacement, Alice is going to find out that Bob has been sending DNA to Sue. How can we effectively hide this information from Alice? Start the swap by replacing "Alice" with "Peter". Oh no that really causes problems because still, Alice will start to wonder about Bob.

Ironic by heretic108 · 2010-12-13 06:44 · Score: 1

I've seen a lot of shitty software in my time

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-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...

Re:Ironic by scdeimos · 2010-12-13 14:01 · Score: 1

Don't worry, there'll be plenty more on the way as soon as Microsoft releases Gene#

I am Legend, anybody?!?!? i mean really? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 07:35 · Score: 0

Doesnt this sound like a bit too similar to the recent movie, "I am Legend?" i mean seriously!!!! i think im gunna start stock piling supplies and ammo for the zombie apocalypse!!!

The cure for cancer, of course it is safe... by FiveNines · 2010-12-13 10:15 · Score: 1

I am Legend!

Christopher A Voigt by elronxenu · 2010-12-13 12:23 · Score: 1

Is that the biologist Christopher A Voigt?

Yes!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-13 14:07 · Score: 0

I may finally be able to catch my computer's virus!

Woah, anyone ever read "Blood Music"? by Eclipse-now · 2010-12-13 22:05 · Score: 1

One of the lines had the "mad scientist's" mum asking why on earth he'd want to make bacteria smart? The hero asked his mother, "Why are you so worried?" She answered, "Ask anyone that's ever cleaned a toilet bowl."

Me either.. by formfeed · 2010-12-14 11:12 · Score: 1

Obviously the programming language would be Mono.

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Scientists Create Programmable Bacteria

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