Glowing Bacteria Biopixels To Be Future Sensor Displays

Genetically engineered E. coli bacteria is taking the science world by storm. Biologists and Bioengineers at UC San Diego have jointly created a living neon sign made of e. coli bacteria that will glow based on triggered reactions. Quorum sensing is the method though which the bacteria actually pass the molecules to coordinate and trigger behavior. Once it is known how those triggers are manipulated, bacteria can be made to respond in predictable ways. For example, adding a particular protein to the bacteria’s biological clock causes the reaction to be a fluorescent glow. Microfluidic chips were designed to harness the trigger and transmit it to the shared colonies present on the chip as the quorum sensing is a technique which is not fast enough to work on the millions of bacteria at the same time. Thus, engineered triggers can make the sensor displays glow. Living sensors technology is increasingly becoming important in fields like artificial intelligence and hybrid machines with living, breathing parts.

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Glowing Bacteria Biopixels

E. coli bacteria is an economically feasible solution and can be commercially produced. They can also be used to check sustained effects. A computer or a television screen is comprised of pixels whereas on the microfluidic chip each of the bacteria cells is called a ‘biopixel’. An image can be formed on the sensor by merely turning “on” or “off” the biopixels via the triggers so this technology can be imagined having functional applications in other areas of science also. In the coming future, sensing technology’s next advance could be expected in living sensors that can be operated by science to generate wanted effects. So throw-away bacteria displays may exist and it’s not a bad thing to make the bacteria, surrounding the humans everywhere, to work for them.

Check out the video from UC San Diego -