"A bioelectronic engineer, Klas Tybrandt of Linkoping University in Sweden, has built the first “ion transistor” computer chip, which uses chemical ions and biological molecules as charge carriers instead of electrons... "In a conventional transistor, there are three terminals: the source, drain, and gate. When current is applied to the gate, electrons flow across the source to the drain — the electrons are the charge carrier. In Tybrandt’s ion transistor, the ionic neurotransmitter acetylcholine is the charge carrier. When the gate is switched on (triggered by a change in “physiological salt concentration”), acetylcholine flows across the transistor. Both inverters and NAND gates have been constructed from these ion transistors, meaning Tybrandt can now manipulate the flow of acetylcholine using any and all logic functions." In theory, these chips could be interfaced with your cells to control them directly. Honestly, I'm not sure if this method, optical triggers, or some other technique will make dramatically improved cybernetics possible, but we seem to be moving forward much faster towards, say, computer brain-interfaces, than I would have expected even a few years ago. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/130111-supercharging-the-nervous-syst...