MIT Builds ‘Living Transistors’ from Engineered Bacteria

On 4th September 2026, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reported engineered bacterial cells that can function like biological transistors, allowing them to build modular “living circuits” capable of processing chemical signals and performing simple computations.

How Does the Technology Work?

• In electronic circuits, a transistor acts as a switch controlling the flow of electrical current. In the MIT system, engineered bacteria perform a similar role by controlling the movement of chemical signalling molecules.
• Researchers used the bacterium Pantoea agglomerans and created:
  • two bacterial strains acting as transistor-like switches; and
  • three additional strains acting as relays, passing chemical signals between different ....