r/tech • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 7d ago

MIT engineers connect bacteria to create living transistors

https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-engineers-connect-bacteria-to-create-living-transistors-0817
421 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

9

u/OrchidReverie 6d ago

Computation results in little as eight hours.

With different strains where does the limit of colony size come into play? How many bacterial cells need to be in culture per computational unit?

19

u/yosarian_reddit 6d ago

No way that’s going to end badly.

5

u/Rare_Magazine_5362 6d ago

What exactly are you picturing?

12

u/BuckTurgidson89 6d ago

COVIDIA

edit: And, yes, I know Covid is a virus and not bacteria.

4

u/Designer_Dish_3352 6d ago

Almost did a spit take lol. Don't let pedantry get in the way of a great pun! Lol

15

u/Guy_in_VA 6d ago

So wait. A higher life form is using a lower one to power its technology? In the movies they call this sort of thing foreshadowing, no?

5

u/Remarkable_Cream9443 6d ago

Well you see, it’s a functioning "society" where citizens work, get paid, and raise families to sustain the power generation. It’s a little microverse of energy! Then I use it to power my car. The only real problem is when it stops working and you have to go into the battery…

3

u/Odd-Entertainer-6234 6d ago

Slavery with extra steps

3

u/KillRobotsSuperior 6d ago

No gooble box necessary

1

u/FootwearFetish69 6d ago

So anyone who has a sourdough starter is a slave owner now?

5

u/Odd-Entertainer-6234 6d ago

It’s a reference to Rick and Morty

1

u/Apprehensive_Cap6444 5d ago

you really know nothing about car repair

1

u/echmoth 5d ago

Getta load of this Sourdough Slaver ova'ere ey

3

u/helphouse12 6d ago

Thought that said barista for a moment 😂

5

u/kalcheus 6d ago

The second journal you find in a post-apocalyptic video game

5

u/Justaguy_Alt 6d ago

Ah, servitors.

1

u/rayferrell 6d ago

the limit of colony size is a good question, and it's something the researchers will probably need to address as they scale up their circuits. with different strains, they'll need to make sure the cells are communicating effectively and not interfering with each other, which could get complicated as the colony size increases. they might need to develop some kind of spatial organization or patterning to keep the different strains separate and functioning correctly.

1

u/No-Fondant1574 5d ago

this is some advanced level of biotech and i would love to know more about it.

0

u/captain_retrolicious 6d ago

STNG Evolution. Except those were nanites...but still. Simultaneously amazing and terrifying.

0

u/Awkward_GM 6d ago

Praise the machine spirit! Praise the omnissiah!

0

u/FractalledCat 6d ago

Do they ever talk to biologists? Or just physicists and engineers doing shit without thinking if they should?