in this article bio-engineers have discovered a way to transmit messages from cell to cell. they took the bacterium M13, a bacteria that doesn't damage your body, but instead "sets up shop" inside you, it eats the food that you eat and it sends texts indiscriminately. the bacteria can send messages to other cells and due to its non-lethality bio-engineers took its key attributes and "reprogramed" it and therefore created what might be a "biological internet". with this new discovery, they were able to successfully transmit messages cell to cell. with more study on this subject biologists and bio-engineers could create multicellular communities to accompish important tasks. the M13 takes strands of DNA that bio-engineers can use those DNA strands and make what is basically a communication channel and it essentially creates an internet for cells. With this scientists can tell cells to stop growing, start growing, etc. and with this they can potentially stop cancerous cells and other diseases that include cellular mutations. the range of the M13 can be up to 40,000 base pairs and so far they have been able to transmit a message as far as 7 centimeters! cellularly speaking this range is very long. soon if this field is practiced scientists could make biosynthetic factories where they can make complicated fuels or large masses of microbes.
Effectively, we’ve separated the message from the channel. We can now send any DNA message we want to specific cells within a complex microbial community,” said Ortiz, the first author of the study.
i think that with this research is going to be extreamely helpful in the medical field as well as to create new biofuels that are completely renuable . not only will it help in those areas but it can also help in making new and improved technologies for this . i think that this research is going to be worthwhile for the new medicines, fuels, and at this day and age it will be very helpful since it can offer people new jobs.
should this research be funded even though we know so little about it, or its consequences?
how worthwhile will it actually be since we are getting so close to stopping cancer and diseases related to it?
should scientists continue studying the M13 or try to find a potentially more efficiant bacteria?
I have invited Dr. Ortiz who is the scientist that discovered this bacteria at Stanford University. She is the lady in the picture that was posted on the article that Dan posted. She will know everything you would want to know about this amazing bacteria.
ReplyDeleteThis is my email....
Hi Dr. Ortiz,
My name is Tyler and I would like to see if you could join our 9th grade class’s Gmail blog. We are actually discussing about the amazing discovery that you have made. I am very interested in the m13 because I know that it could help save many people. Its potential is through the roof.
Thank You,
Tyler
1. I think the research should definitely be funded because it could lead to a universal cancer cure.
ReplyDelete2. It wouldbe worthwhile because there are countless diseases that this kind of bioengineering could help cure.
3. I believe that their main focus should be on the best lead, that's no to say they dont do a little research on other bacteria too.
I think that we should keep funding this research because we could find several cures because this diease can follow all your bodies jobs. I just wonder if it is harmful to your body or gives it any side effects. I think we should test it on people now to see how it works.
ReplyDeleteQuestions....
1. Would you fund this and why?
2. Do you think they will find the cure to cancer through this research?
3. Do you think this research is helpful?
http://www.kurzweilai.net/bi-fi-the-biological-internet
ReplyDeleteThis article goes into detail of how this process works, and talks about the more scientific reasoning behind this messaging system, instead of the things that we could do with it. It explains the way it works as M13 goes inside the host cell and codes the message, and then it reproduces into other cells, sending the message. If you would like to learn more, the article goes into more specific detail for each part of the process so you should check it out.