Engineers and biologists at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have designed hydrogel wearables that are injected with live cells that are genetically programmed to light up in the presence of certain chemicals. the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Soft Active Materials Laboratory and Synthetic Biology Group combined the former's hydrogel, a tough, highly stretchable, biocompatible material made from a mix of polymer and water, with the latter's edited E. coli cells, which programmed to fluoresce in the presence of certain chemicals. Potential uses range from crime scene investigation and forensic science, to pollution monitoring and medical diagnostics but commercialisation remains a long way off.
Engineers and biologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed hydrogel wearables that are injected with live cells that are genetically programmed to light up in the presence of certain chemicals. MIT's Soft Active Materials Laboratory and Synthetic Biology Group combined the former's hydrogel, a tough, highly stretchable, biocompatible material made from a mix of polymer and water, with the latter's edited E. coli cells, which programmed to fluoresce in the presence of certain chemicals. Potential uses range from crime scene investigation and forensic science, to pollution monitoring and medical diagnostics but commercialisation remains a long way off.