- Human cells processed more biological signals using fewer genetic instructions simultaneously
- RNA trans-splicing allowed cells to perform complex computational operations efficiently
- Researchers successfully built live versions of computer adders and multiplexers
Researchers at Hebrew University claim to have engineered human cells capable of processing multiple biological signals simultaneously, just like tiny computer chips.
PhD student Keren Roas and Dr. Lior Nissim built an artificial genetic system that allows cells to follow layered instructions without the usual loss of reliability.
Their results, published in Nature communicationdescribe a method that could eventually allow cells to diagnose disease and respond automatically inside the body.
A new approach to genetic computation
Traditional genetic circuits work a bit like a tall building, where each additional instruction requires another layer of internal computation to function properly.
As these systems become more complex, their performance and reliability tend to degrade quite rapidly under real-world conditions.
The Hebrew University team addressed this limitation using a natural process called RNA trans-splicing, which joins separate genetic messages inside a living cell.
They combined this process with both natural and artificially engineered regulatory elements to build molecular tools that resemble biological processors.
Dr. Nissim explained that the new method allows cells to run complex programs using far fewer calculations and genetic building blocks than before.
This reduction, he said, allows more advanced biological programs to be constructed without sacrificing functional accuracy or consistency.
“Our new approach allows cells to execute complex programs using far fewer calculations and genetic building blocks,” said Dr. Nissim.
“This makes it possible to build much more advanced biological programs without losing functionality.”
To demonstrate the system, researchers built a biological “full adder,” a three-bit device capable of simple binary math similar to a computer processor.
They also created a biological multiplexer, a component that selects a signal from several options and passes it on.
Fluorescent proteins that glowed in different colors allowed the team to track how these signals moved through each engineered cell in real time.
Towards programmable cell therapies
The system also includes a built-in safety mechanism that activates when a cell detects an invalid or overloaded genetic configuration internally.
This produces a clear warning signal that the researchers say could ultimately help prevent errors during real medical treatments.
As a practical demonstration, the team programmed cells to produce Interleukin-15, an immune protein known to activate cancer-fighting immune cells more effectively.
In theory, similarly programmed cells could monitor for multiple disease markers at once before releasing treatment only when needed.
Such precision could enable future therapies to directly target diseased tissue while limiting damage to surrounding healthy cells nearby.
By lowering the genetic material and energy required for cellular decision-making, the researchers have created a particularly flexible toolkit for future work.
Whether this approach can be reliably scaled from laboratory demonstrations to actual clinical treatments remains an open and unresolved question.
Yet the underlying logic suggests that medicine increasingly resembles software design, with biological code directing cells about exactly when and how to act.
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