Project description
FET Proactive 3: Bio-chemistry-based Information Technology (CHEM-IT)
The main objective of BACTOCOM is to build a simple computer, using bacteria rather than silicon. Microbes may be thought of as biological "micro-machines" that process information about their own state and the world around them. By sensing their environment, certain bacteria are able to move in response to chemical signals, allowing them to seek out food, for example. They can also communicate with other bacteria, by leaving chemical trails, or by directly exchanging genetic information. We focus on this latter mechanism.
Parts of the internal "program" of a bacterial cell (encoded by its genes, and the connections between them) may be "reprogrammed" in order to persuade it to perform human-defined tasks. By introducing artificial "circuits" made up of genetic components, we may add new behaviours or modify existing functionality within the cell. Existing examples of this include a bacterial oscillator, which causes the cells to periodically flash, and cell-based pollution detectors that can spot arsenic in drinking water. The potential for bio-engineering is huge, but the process itself is made difficult by the noisy, "messy" nature of the underlying material. Bacteria are hard to engineer, as they rarely conform to the traditional model of a computer or device, with well-defined components laid out in a fixed design.
We intend to use the inherent randomness of natural processes to our advantage, by harnessing it as a framework for biological engineering. By allowing our system to evolve, we use natural selection to build new functional biological devices. We begin with a large number of simple DNA-based components, taken from a well-understood toolbox, which may be pieced together inside the cell to form new genetic programs. A population of bacteria then absorb these components, which may (or may not) affect their behaviour. Crucially, the core of our bacterial computer is made up of engineered microbes that can detect how well they are performing, according to some external measure, such as how well they can flash in time with light pulses.The better bacteria are allowed to release their program components back into the environment in much larger numbers than the other, less impressive cells. As these "good" components are then increasingly taken up by the population of cells, in a continual cycle, we gradually refine the internal program, until the whole population performs well. There are many potential benefits to this work, from both a biological and ICT perspective. By evolving new functional structures, we gain insight into biological systems. This, in turn, may suggest new methods for silicon-based computing, in the way that both evolution and the brain have already done. In building these new bio-devices, we offer a new type of programmable, microscopic information processor that will find applications in areas as diverse as environmental sensing and clean-up, medical diagnostics and therapeutics, energy and security.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes drinking water treatment processes
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-ICT-2009-4
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
M15 6BX MANCHESTER
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.