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 ....
Do You Want to Read More?
Subscribe Now
To get access to detailed content
Buy November 2026 Issue

Already a Member? Login here

Take Annual Subscription and get the following Advantage
The annual members of the Civil Services Chronicle can read the monthly content of the magazine as well as the Chronicle magazine archives.
Readers can study all the material before the last six months of the Civil Services Chronicle monthly issue in the form of Chronicle magazine archives.
Be an Annual Subscriber

Related Content