---
title: "New Device Can Make Large Biological Circuits Practical"
description: "A team of researchers at MIT introduced a device that allows biological circuits to behave nearly as predictably as their electronic counterparts"
date: "2014-11-25"
modified: "2015-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Amber Raynolds"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/amber24"
url: "https://futurism.com/new-device-can-make-large-biological-circuits-practical"
categories:
  - "Computing"
  - "Devices"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "nanotech"
---

# New Device Can Make Large Biological Circuits Practical

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/141124125347-large.jpg>)

- Synthetic biological circuits can be used to detect markers that indicate the presence of cancer cells, and then trigger the release of molecules targeted to kill those cells
- Scientists need to work out a safe way for circuits to accurately detect cancerous and noncancerous cells, so they don't release their killing power in the wrong places
- The device the team produced to address that problem is called a load driver, and its effect is similar to that of load drivers used in electronic circuits: It provides a kind of buffer between the signal and the output, preventing the effects of the signaling from backing up through the system and causing delays in outputs