Study reveals human cells that compute like chips

Researchers at Hebrew University have engineered human cells capable of processing multiple biological signals at once, functioning much like small computer chips. In a study published in Nature Communications in June 2026, PhD student Keren Roas and Dr Lior Nissim describe an artificial genetic system that lets cells follow layered instructions without the usual drop-off in reliability that complex genetic circuits typically suffer.

Conventional genetic circuits work like a skyscraper: every additional instruction requires an additional layer of computation, with the system performance deteriorating fast when the tower rises higher.

With their innovative circuit design, researchers from Hebrew University made use of RNA trans-splicing, a physiological mechanism of connecting two different genetic signals into one inside a live cell.

In combination with naturally occurring and synthetic control components, the method enabled the creation of molecular devices that operate similarly to biological computers but use fewer genetic components compared to previous systems.

To prove the concept, the researchers built several working circuits: a three-input logic gate, a half adder, a full adder capable of simple binary maths similar to a computer processor, and a 3-to-1 multiplexer that selects one signal from multiple options.

In addition, there is a unique "Selector Overload Status" feature incorporated into the device, which works as an alert that is triggered only when there is any problem with the configuration of the circuitry, according to the group.

Fluorescent proteins that light up with different colours were used by scientists to see how signals travelled throughout each genetically modified cell in real-time.

Interleukin-15 was created inside the cells by the research team as a proof-of-concept experiment since it is a protein of the immune system that is better at stimulating the activity of immune cells that fight cancer.

The lower computational load, Nissim says, allows the cells to execute complicated programs with much lower amounts of computations needed for them while still preserving their precision.