News Tech I, computer Engineered bacteria become the first living computers By Patrick Barry May 19, 2008 at 6:01 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Scientists have built the first living computer and tasked it with solving an important problem: flipping pancakes. BURNT PANCAKE PROBLEM How many flips does it take to get these pancakes sorted? A colony of E. coli may be able to sort it out. iStockphoto Researchers genetically engineered the bacterium E.