Living cells ‘hacked’ and hijacked by MIT 

E-coli moves through the gut 
Bacteria could be programmed to release cancer drugs when encountering a tumour Credit: SPL / BARCROFT MEDIA/SPL / BARCROFT MEDIA

Scientists at MIT have proven they can ‘hack’ living cells and programme them to carry out new tasks.

In the same way that computer language tells a machine how to operate, researchers have shown it is possible to write DNA ‘code’ and insert it into bacteria to alter how they function.

They hope that one day cells could be programmed so they could release cancer drugs on encountering a tumour, or allow plants to fight back with insecticide when a pest comes near.

“It is literally a programming language for bacteria,” said Christopher Voigt, an MIT professor of biological engineering.

“You use a text-based language, just like you’re programming a computer. Then you take that text and you compile it and it turns it into a DNA sequence that you put into the cell, and the circuit runs inside the cell.”

A bug on a leaf 
Plants could carry cells which release insecticide when bugs come near  Credit: Alamy /Alamy

 

For 15 years bioengineers have been tinkering with genetic code to alter cells manually, but it is laborious and involves a great deal of trial and error.

But users of the new programming language need no special knowledge of genetic engineering.   “You could be completely naive as to how any of it works. That’s what’s really different about this,” added Prof Voigt .

“You could be a student in high school and go onto the Web-based server and type out the program you want, and it spits back the DNA sequence.

“Unit now it would take years to build these types of circuits. Now you just hit the button and immediately get a DNA sequence to test.”  

The language is based on Verilog, which is commonly used to program computer chips.

A circuit board 
The language is similar to that used in computer chips Credit: Alamy /Alamy

 

To create a version of the language that would work for cells, the researchers designed computing elements such as sensors that can be encoded in a bacterial cell’s DNA.

The sensors can detect different compounds, such as oxygen or glucose, as well as light, temperature, acidity, and other environmental conditions.

The team have used the language on E.coli bacteria but plan to start tests on more friends strains of bacteria which live in the human gut and so could exist in the human body without causing harm.

The first programmes altered the function of cells so that they responded to different environmental conditions such as the level of oxygen. The team is now working to produce code which create bacteria which can be swallowed to aid digestion of lactose and potentially cure lactose intolerance.

The work was reported in the journal Science.

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