"he conceded that they are not close to actually producing them for actual products." i.e., it will be 15-20 yrs before anything useful comes out of it.
"we hope that our work could lead to a new generation of biological processors" doubt it. There was never one in the first place and never will be. There are no real advantages that this research provides over existing tech.
1. silicon and molecular-based circuitry is way more advanced
2. E. coli is a living organism, thus the following factors have to be controlled:
a. sustenance
b. reproduction
c. cell death
d. mutations
3. E coli by itself is already 2 micrometers (10^-6) long.
a. Molecular nanomachines being built are exactly that: sizes range from 10^-8 to 10^-7 meters.
b. intel fab process is already or in the process of mass producing IB, which is already several magnitudes smaller than the E. coli itself
4. E. coli is an opportunistic organism. If in your blood stream, it will lead to sepsis, shock, and death. Last thing I want is an E. coli -based computer floating in my blood stream.