Scientists use computer code to change DNA and how living cells behave

Efforts to harness the power of livings cells have just taken a huge stride forward, thanks to a new method which could revolutionise synthetic biology. Scientists have been able to'hack' a living cell using a simple computer programming language, allowing them to tweak the functions of cells. The findings lay the groundwork for anyone to easily write in new functions to living cells, enabling them to carry out any task. Scientists at MIT have'hacked' a living cell using a simple computer programming language to create synthetic DNA (illustrated), allowing them to tweak the functions of bacteria. By engineering DNA'circuits' - which mimic electronic circuits - bioengineers in the US were able to rewrite the code of bacteria, changing their functions to environmental cues.