Scientists have engineered bacteria that can work like electronic transistors, opening the door to living circuits that could one day help plants detect drought, pests, and other environmental threats. Imagine a circuit board that is not made of silicon, wires, and metal, but from living bacteria. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working to make this idea a reality. The team has engineered bacteria that can behave like transistors , the basic switching components used in electronic devices. In an electronic circuit, a transistor controls the flow of electrical current. In these biological circuits, bacterial transistors control the flow of chemical signals between living cells. This approach could allow scientists to build biological "circuit boards" by arranging bacterial colonies on a growth surface. Turning Bacteria Into Transistors The researchers used a bacterium called Pantoea agglomerans , which commonly grows on surfaces, including pl...