Scientists used the tools of synthetic biology to program this new ability into E. coli. The genes that encode for the bacterial counters should be relatively easily transferred to other bacteria. The real trick, according to Stanford University professor Christina Smolke, another scientist using synthetic biology, is to couple the bacterial counters with other systems that make it easier to register the counts. "The field of synthetic biology is still trying to develop a framework that can take all these components and stick them together to build a fully functional circuit," said Smolke. "Overall I'm sure that we would want to count to much higher, but this is a start, it demonstrates a foundation, but there are lots of challenges to come as we start linking these models up." Related Links: How Stuff Works: Could Color-Coded Bacteria Help Spot Oil Spills? |
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