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Creating Living Cellular Machines

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Abstract

Development of increasingly complex integrated cellular systems will be a major challenge for the next decade and beyond, as we apply the knowledge gained from the sub-disciplines of regenerative medicine, synthetic biology, micro-fabrication and nanotechnology, systems biology, and developmental biology. In this prospective, we describe the current state-of-the-art in the assembly of source cells, derived from pluripotent cells, into populations of a single cell type to produce the components or building blocks of higher order systems and finally, combining multiple cell types, possibly in combination with scaffolds possessing specific physical or chemical properties, to produce higher level functionality. We also introduce the issue, questions and ample research opportunities to be explored by others in the field. As these “living machines” increase in capabilities, exhibit emergent behavior and potentially reveal the ability for self-assembly, self-repair, and even self-replication, questions arise regarding the ethical implications of this work. Future prospects as well as ways of addressing these complex ethical questions will be discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Center (STC) Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS) Grant CBET-0939511, as well as valuable discussions with Robert Nerem, Todd McDevitt, Ron Weiss, Linda Griffith, Hyunjoon Kong, Taher Saif, K. Jimmy Hsia, and many other colleagues from the EBICS STC. The authors have no conflicts of interest to claim in association with this publication.

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  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Roger D. Kamm

  2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Rashid Bashir

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Correspondence to Roger D. Kamm.

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Associate Editor Gang Bao oversaw the review of this article.

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Kamm, R.D., Bashir, R. Creating Living Cellular Machines. Ann Biomed Eng 42, 445–459 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0902-7

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