E. coli, a bacteria notorious for causing the deadliest bouts of food poisoning has now successfully demonstrated its ability to replace a Kodak film after efforts by researchers from two US universities paid up.
In the latest issue of the journal Nature, the University of California and University of Texas researchers display the sharp images captured by the programmed bacteria using a camera like assembly of an incubator, a petri-dish and a projector.
The modified bacteria is an example of modern "synthetic biology" mired in controversy as researchers keen on the manipulating microscopic germs come together without the full blessings of mainstream science. These researchers have been keen to turn the germs into robots or directed workers that create plastics, drugs or even alternative fuels, by genetic programming.
Going beyond genetic engineering itself, synthetic biologists actually try to create complex biological systems that serve like the logical computers after breaking down microbes and similar agents into fragments that can be re-assembled.
Chris Voigt of University of California, San Francisco who was the key author of the study says, "There is kind of a hacker culture behind all of this". Voigt and others picked up light sensitive genes from algae and spliced them in a batch of E.coli. The modified bacteria were spread on a petri-dish and incubated, while powerful projector from atop the incubator cast photo-images of the researchers through a hole.
With some bacteria exposed to light, images resembling the traditional black-and-white photographs emerged. The resolution of the image at about 100 megapixels appeared 10 times sharper than most high-end printers.
Another renowned synthetic biologist from MIT, Drew Endy was appreciative when he said, "They aren't going to put Kodak out of business any time soon". He knew very well that the creation's primary use would be as a start-stop sensor for more complex experiments in genetic engineering as that would fuel greater advances in harnessing the power of bio-agents.
Currently the examples of such projects include an Israeli effort to build the tiniest computer that performs mathematical functions using DNA or the American effort to produce alternate fuels or malaria drugs using bio-agents.
But wondrous though these efforts are, there are dangers that lurk in the form of misdirected humans. Also genes can be bought quite easily for just a $1 and equally quickly be stitched together to form dangerous viruses. Last year a polio virus created synthetically using mail-order genes caused security experts to worry about the dangers of the mistaken or intentional release of such viruses.
However some reservations originate from the unpredictability and mutation proneness of biological agents itself. Still many find the nascent field of synthetic biology attractive given that it is relatively unexplored compared to mainstream science. That the not-so-environment friendly photo-films have a more natural alternative seems such a great idea that Kodak better watch out.
