Researchers: Bacteria Could Create Computer Components

Scientists say magnet-making bacteria could eventually be used to build environmentally-friendly, all-biological computers. University of Leeds and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology researchers have used Magnetospirillum magneticum, a bacteria that digests iron via proteins that help create magnetite nanocrystals.  The magnetic material, say researchers, is similar to the one found in hard drives and computer wiring. They have also replicated the process without using the bacteria and say it is more elegant than traditional nanoscale manufacturing. The researchers’ goal is to create a toolkit of proteins and chemicals that could help create components for a biological computer. They have published their work in the journal Small.
(PhysOrg)(University of Leeds)(“Biotemplated Magnetic Nanoparticle Arrays,” J.M. Galloway, J. P. Bramble, et al., Small, Vol. 8, Issue 2, pp. 204-208, 2012.)