E.coli bacteria can be modified to act as electronic components called memristors. They can also be trained to play noughts or crosses
Life
13 May 2022
Wells of bacteria representing a tic-tac-toe grid Alfonso Jaramillo/CSIC
For the first time humans have played tic tac toe with bacteria. These were no ordinary bacteria, but E. coli extensively genetically modified and set up to act as a simple neural network, a form of artificial intelligence.
This approach could have all kinds of applications, from creating living materials capable of learning to making “smart” microbiomes, says Alfonso Jaramillo at the Spanish National Research Council.
He started his team with an E.coli strain genetically altered …
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