Caltech Scientists Create First Programming Language for Living Matter

Scientists at Caltech have developed a groundbreaking method to program and control living cellular materials, marking a major advance in bioengineering and nanotechnology.

The research team, building on their 2019 discoveries, has created the first programming language for “active matter” — materials composed of energy-consuming components that work collectively.

“Active matter has been a potential new material or resource for bioengineering but has, until this point, been impossible to control,” said Matt Thomson, professor of computational biology and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator at Caltech.

The breakthrough focuses on manipulating microtubules, tube-like protein filaments that form cellular skeletons and measure just 10 micrometers in length – about 1,000 times smaller than a black ant.

These microscopic structures, working with motor proteins, function like coordinated teams of ants controlling a vehicle, enabling cells to move and transport materials throughout their structure.

The development emerged from a collaboration between Thomson’s laboratory and Rob Phillips, the Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics at Caltech.

Fan Yang, a postdoctoral scholar, and graduate student Shichen Liu led the study as co-first authors, utilizing computational theory and principles of linear superposition to achieve precise control.

The research builds upon the team’s earlier work demonstrating light-based control of active matter, similar to how birds coordinate their movements within a flock.

The findings, published in Nature Materials on January 29, represent a significant step forward in manipulating cellular components that are 1,000 times thinner than human hair.