Biomolecular Engineer Wins Grant to Make Microorganism-Inspired Machines

What do the cylinder in an internal combustion engine and the four-millimeterlong creature, Spirostomum ambiguum, have in common? Surprisingly, quite a bit. Both are similarly shaped. Both shrink to a fraction of their size in an instant. And both release about the same amount of power output per cubic centimeter in volume. But for all we know about the engine, we know relatively little about the living organism.

Assistant Professor Saad Bhamla recently received an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to continue studying Spirostomum and attempt to build machines based on similar principles. The grant will provide his research group with $1.98 million in funding over five years.

For Bhamla, the comparison between the organism and the engine is more than just an analogy. He is now working to build something directly akin to a micro-engine, with pistons and cylinders made out of synthetic cells similar to Spirostomum.