---
title: "Get Ready for Pills Programmed to Respond to Your Cells’ Individual Needs"
description: "A new paper describes work that could be used for smart pills that would use molecular computation to treat signals from individual cells."
date: "2018-10-17"
modified: "2018-10-17"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/molecular-computation-smart-pills"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "dna"
  - "smart pill"
  - "the digest"
  - "university of chicago"
---

# Get Ready for Pills Programmed to Respond to Your Cells’ Individual Needs

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/molecular-computation-smart-pills.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/pills-dietary-supplements-943758/" target="\_blank"\>TBIT/Victor Tangermann\</a\>\</em\>*

## Pill Pusher

Smart pills can already [track whether you're taking your medication](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/big-brother-fda-approves-worlds-first-electronic-smart-pill.md>) and [help regulate your bowel movements](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/poopbots-edible-tech-gastrable.md>).

The next evolution: programmable smart pills that tailor medical treatments in response to signals from individual cells.

The preprint server *arXiv* recently published [a paper](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.02883.pdf>) describing work that could lead to the creation of such pills — and they have to potential to forever change what it means to be human.

## Molecular Computation

On Wednesday, *MIT Tech Review* ran a [compelling overview](<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612303/dna-based-molecular-computing-will-pave-the-way-for-programmable-pills/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=owned_social>) of the research. According to that report, researchers from the University of Chicago figured out a way to trick strands of DNA into behaving like switches — a development in a field known as molecular computation.

The hope is that we can combine these switches into logic gates — the same basic computational building blocks that power the electronics in your computer or smartphone.

Eventually, the Chicago researchers imagine, we could incorporate those DNA-powered computers into pills, programming them to keep watch on our bodies and release medication**s** in response to signs of distress from individual cells.

## Body Load

This research is interesting on a number of levels.

Not only could it lead to incredible medical treatments, it also conjures up visions of a future in which tiny computers reside alongside the natural cells and microflora in the human body — a development that could call into question what exactly it means to be human.

**READ MORE:** [DNA-Based Molecular Computing Will Pave the Way for Programmable Pills](<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612303/dna-based-molecular-computing-will-pave-the-way-for-programmable-pills/>) \[*MIT Tech Review*\]

***More on smart pills: [Edible Tech Is Finally Useful, Is Here to Help You Poop](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/poopbots-edible-tech-gastrable.md>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)

## More

- [Bluetooth Smart Pill Pairs With Your Phone From Inside Your Stomach](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/smart-pill-3d-printed-bluetooth.md>)
- [This Smart Pill Grows 100 Times Bigger Once It’s in Your Stomach](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/smart-pill-grows-bigger-stomach.md>)
- [Scientists Are Using CRISPR To “Program” Living Cells](<https://futurism.com/scientists-are-using-crispr-to-program-living-cells.md>)
- [The FDA Is Trying to Figure out How to Regulate Smart Pills](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-regulate-smart-pills.md>)
- [Scientists Find A Way to 3D Print One Pill For All That Ails You](<https://futurism.com/scientists-find-a-way-to-3d-print-one-pill-for-all-that-ails-you.md>)
- [New ‘Smart’ Sutures Send Recovery Info From Your Wound to Your Cell Phone](<https://futurism.com/new-smart-sutures-send-recovery-info-from-your-wound-to-your-cell-phone.md>)
- [Reprogramming Diseased Cells: Microsoft Announces Plans to “Solve Cancer” in 10 Years](<https://futurism.com/microsoft-proposes-to-solve-cancer-in-10-years.md>)
- [We’ve Figured Out How to Program Living Cells](<https://futurism.com/hacking-biology-scientists-made-programming-language-living-cells.md>)