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Rice University Secures $1.99M Grant for Living Computer Systems

9/4/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Rice University researchers, led by Professor Matthew Bennett, secured a $1.99 million NSF grant for biological computing systems using engineered bacteria.
The project seeks to merge microbial sensing with electronic networks, impacting medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
This approach may revolutionize computing by employing living cells, improving adaptability and learning over traditional silicon hardware.

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Story summary

Rice University researchers, led by Professor Matthew Bennett, secured a $1.99 million NSF grant for biological computing systems using engineered bacteria.
The project seeks to merge microbial sensing with electronic networks, impacting medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
This approach may revolutionize computing by employing living cells, improving adaptability and learning over traditional silicon hardware.