Tau.Neutrino said:
Cyborg step? Scientists engineer bioelectric cells
The dream of controlling biological cells electronically isn’t just for sci-fi writers – if we can achieve it, scientists believe it will revolutionize the fight against disease. And now we may be a step closer – researchers from the University of Maryland (UM) have created an electrogenetic “switching” system in bacterial cells that lets them influence the way the single-celled organisms behave.
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“With minimal rewiring, the team was able to modify redox molecules to respond to electrons from the electrode. The device could toggle the molecule’s oxidation state to either an oxidized state where it would lose an electron, or a reduced state where it would gain an electron, essentially turning the redox molecules on and off. They were then able to manipulate the bacteria to respond to the redox molecules “on/off” state by activating specific gene expressions.”
Yes, the redox steps within a cell are by far the easiest biochemical processes that are able to be controlled with an electric current from an electrode.
Very nice that they were able to use that to control bacterial behaviour.