Researchers Raphael Kim and Stefan Poslad, from Queen Mary University of London, pointed out that bacteria act similarly to Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
This similarity lies in the fact that these microorganisms have excellent means of communication and built-in motors and sensors, while also possessing the ability to process and efficiently store information.
And now it seems that the researchers who discovered these similarities want to build a biological version of the internet, using bacteria.
Escherichia Coli is a special type of bacteria that can and does store information in ring-shaped structures similar to DNA. These structures are called plasmids, and the bacteria transfer these plasmids from one organism to another through a process called conjugation. The reason scientists prefer to use E.Coli is the fact that it is easy to program through genetic engineering.
Previously, Federico Tavella of the University of Padua in Italy, along with his colleagues, created a circuit in which the message “Hello World” was transmitted by a strain of E.coli.
This experiment leads to the conclusion that such information transfer in the bacterial world can be used to create a complex network, hence, a biological version of the Internet.
However, one of the obstacles scientists face in creating a network using bacteria is the lack of a GPS- like mechanism . Without it, it is difficult for researchers to track the information they have sent.
According to Kim and Poslad, “These challenges provide a rich area for discussion of the broader implications of bacterial Internet of Things systems.”
While the project is far from being realized, the idea and the actions taken to achieve it are commendable. In any case, a network consisting of bacteria is certainly an interesting and innovative idea, both for technology and science.
