ST. JOSEPH, Mo., July 23 (UPI) -- Researchers report creating what they call "bacterial computers" which potentially can solve complicated human mathematical problems.
The findings of the research, published in BioMed Central's Journal of Biological Engineering, demonstrate computing in living cells is feasible and can open the door to a number of applications, the report says.
The research team engineered the DNA of Escherichia coli bacteria, creating bacterial computers capable of solving a classic mathematical problem.
The research extends previous work published last year in the same journal to produce bacterial computers that could solve another problem.
The unit was made up of four faculty members and 15 undergraduate students from the biology and mathematics departments at Missouri Western State University and Davidson College in North Carolina.
