Bacterial biosensors: The future of analyte detection

Scientists can do some nifty things with microbes, including engineering bacterial cells to sense and signal the presence of specific compounds. These microbial whole-cell biosensors have numerous purposes, from detecting toxins in the environment to signaling infections or disease in humans. Propelled by advances in synthetic biology, researchers are continuing to refine the methodology for creating bacterial biosensors and are developing new ways to apply these devices to promote human and planetary health.