![\"Why](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/why-biology-could-be-t.jpg\" "\\"Hybrid")
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Hybrid biology-based semiconductor electronic systems are within the realm of possibility. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58030-y<\/p>\n
Australian researchers are turning to nature for the next computing revolution, harnessing living cells and biological systems as potential replacements for traditional silicon chips. A new paper from Macquarie University scientists outlines how engineered biological systems could solve limitations in traditional computing, as international competition accelerates the development of “semisynbio” technologies.<\/p>\n
Living computers, organs-on-a-chip, data storage in DNA and biosecurity networks that detect threats before they spread\u2014these aren’t science fiction concepts but emerging realities. A team from Macquarie University and the ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology (COESB) has explored this convergence of biological and digital technologies in a Perspective paper published<\/a> in Nature Communications.<\/p>\n The Macquarie University authors\u2014Professor Isak Pretorius, Professor Ian Paulsen and Dr. Thom Dixon (who are also affiliated with the ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology), Professor Daniel Johnson and Professor Michael Boers\u2014draw on decades of combined experience to explain why harnessing bio-innovation can proactively shape the future of computing technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n “As biology<\/a> and digital technology merge, we’re entering an era of bio-inspired computing and engineering that could redefine the future of innovation,” says Professor Pretorius.<\/p>\n Nature can accelerate global information and energy flows<\/p>\n The global economy relies on information and energy flows, and the race for computer science to develop artificial intelligence<\/a> that can attempt to handle these flows comes at an enormous cost in energy and resources.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the authors say, over 3.5 billion years of evolution, nature has become very good at efficiently sensing, solving problems and making decisions.<\/p>\n Biological systems have inspired breakthroughs like brain-computer interfaces and “neuromorphic chips”\u2014processors designed to mimic the brain.<\/p>\n A key milestone in this field is the recent mapping of a fruit fly’s entire neural network\u2014an example of the neuroscience field of “connectomics,” which maps and analyzes connections within the brain. This breakthrough could unlock smarter AI and more efficient processors.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat biology does better than traditional computing<\/p>\n Artificially replicating intelligence has an enormous energy and resource cost compared to biology, which processes complex chemical, optical, and electrical signals effortlessly.<\/p>\n With silicon chips reaching their limits, scientists are turning to biological intelligence as a way forward. Cellular computing, liquid computing, and DNA data storage could work alongside traditional chips, unlocking new efficiencies.<\/p>\n Even a simple slime mold can solve complex problems<\/a> using a fraction of the energy modern computers consume.<\/p>\n “Rather than forcing biology to fit into digital systems, we should learn from nature’s intelligent designs,” says Professor Paulsen. “Integrating biological computing with technology could revolutionize AI, sensing, and data processing, leading to a more sustainable future.”<\/p>\n Breakthrough innovations on the horizon<\/p>\n The paper argues that engineering biology and bio-computing will impact multiple sectors and industries:<\/p>\n “The future of computing isn’t just about technology\u2014it’s about geopolitics,” says Professor Johnson.<\/p>\n As the world’s largest tech companies, including semiconductor giants, pour billions into AI-driven chip technology, market-leading companies like Nvidia have skyrocketed in value, reflecting the growing strategic importance of computational power.<\/p>\n The paper argues that those who lead the semisynbio revolution\u2014the fusion of synthetic biology and semiconductor technology\u2014will define the next era of intelligence.<\/p>\n These pioneers will design and manufacture new substrates that merge biointelligence with AI, unlocking transformative applications in digital biology, ecosystem modeling, and AI-powered DNA writing.<\/p>\n A call to action<\/p>\n “This isn’t just about advancing technology\u2014it’s about rethinking intelligence itself,” says Professor Pretorius.<\/p>\n Scientists and policymakers must integrate biological intelligence with artificial networks while ensuring ethical and sustainable practices. Imagine a world where the World Wide Web connects with the Wood Wide Web, where AI-driven systems interface with the intelligence of nature itself.<\/p>\n The future of computing won’t be just faster chips or quantum processors. It will be an entirely new paradigm\u2014where nature and technology co-design intelligence together.<\/p>\n “The age of semisynbio is upon us, and its potential is bound only by human imagination,” says Professor Pretorius.<\/p>\n More information:<\/strong> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIsak S. Pretorius et al, The coming wave of confluent biosynthetic, bioinformational and bioengineering technologies, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58030-y<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMacquarie University<\/a>
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