In an amazing but slightly weird world first, scientists have formed a feedback loop between common, baking and brewing yeast, and a computer. The computer can trigger the yeast to produce a protein, and the yeast then feeds back to the computer how much of the protein is being produced — the computer has exact control over the yeast’s production.

This work, performed by scientists at the Automatic Control Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, is exceptional because of its simplicity: The computer turns the yeast on by flashing a red light, and it turns the yeast off by flashing a deeper red light. Connected to the yeast is a “reporter” molecule that fluoresces when the protein is produced. The computer can see this fluorescence and alter the light it emits, thus creating a full feedback loop.

The simplicity is significant because of the role of yeasts and bacteria in the production of antibiotics, biofuels, and more. Basically, there are tantalizing hints that one day we’ll be able to dump all of our trash into a primordial ooze of (probably genetically-engineered) bacteria that can break it down into its constituent parts, or fuel, or sugar, or something along those lines. The problem is controlling those organisms — so far, scientists have tried to genetically add synthetic control circuits, with limited success… and now the Swiss have shown that it can be done by simply shining a couple of lights.

One day, then, manufacturing might consist of a vat filled with bacteria, yeast, and some kind of liquid nutrient. By shining a specific light frequency, the bacteria might produce a pharmaceutical drug — but another frequency might produce fuel. More awe-inspiringly, though — or perhaps more worryingly, if you’re a pessimist — the computer-yeast process is completely automated. Humans programmed the controlling algorithm, of course, but now, somewhere in Zurich, there’s a computer that’s communicating with the contents of a petri dish.

It’s a long way off, but if we can learn more about cell signalling — we know very little about how a cluster of cells actually gets anything done — then computers could ultimately control a multitude of biological processes. To begin with, this would just be a manufacturing boon, but it could easily end with computers growing new humans (or skinjobs?) from vats of stem cells. If we really crack cell signalling, we could also create add-on cybernetic brains — co-processors that make you better at multitasking, and finally enable you to rub your stomach and pat your head simultaneously.

Read more at BBC or Nature Biotechnology