Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a university in the United States, have changed bacteria so they can work like electronic parts called transistors. This allows the team to make ‘living circuit boards’ that can do simple maths. The researchers used a type of bacteria named Pantoea agglomerans, which usually lives on plant surfaces. They made different bacterial groups to do separate jobs and then connected them by printing them close together on a jelly called agar.

MIT scientists did this to bring computer-like control to living things. In normal electronics, a transistor controls electricity. In this project, the special bacteria controlled chemical signals between each other. The idea is not to replace fast computers, but to build slow, living circuits that work in real life situations, for example inside plants.

The main result is that these living circuits could one day help farmers by going on plant roots or leaves. They could find dangers like dry soil or harmful insects and then make the plant protect itself. This research was published by MIT in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.