Slashdot Mirror
Computer-Controlled Cyborg Yeast
MrSeb writes "With a slightly weird world first, scientists have formed a feedback loop between common, baking and brewing yeast, and a computer. The computer can trigger the yeast to produce a protein, and the yeast then feeds back to the computer how much of the protein is being produced — the computer has exact control over the yeast's production. This work, performed by scientists at the Automatic Control Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, is exceptional because of its simplicity: The computer turns the yeast on by flashing a red light, and it turns the yeast off by flashing a deeper red light. Connected to the yeast is a 'reporter' molecule that fluoresces when the protein is produced. The computer can see this fluorescence and alter the light it emits, thus creating a full feedback loop. The simplicity is significant because of the role of yeasts and bacteria in the production of antibiotics, biofuels, and more. The problem is controlling those organisms — so far, scientists have tried to genetically add synthetic control circuits, with limited success... and now the Swiss have shown that it can be done by simply shining a couple of lights."
Actually, the best way to sell it is to call it iYeast and say it's a cloud-based service.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
there is nothing cyborg about this.
. . . yet . . .
"Oh, my God! The vat of yeast has formed into a giant yeast-hand, which is fiddling with the flashing red light control!"
Beware of the coming yeast infection . . .
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Roxanne, you don't have to turn on the red light.
And definitely NOT the deeper red light.
Cyborg is short for "cybernetic organism".
Cybernetics is the communication/interface (and control systems) between living things and machines.
So... this really is a cybernetic organism.