DARPA Launches New Division Plans to Merge Biology, Engineering, and Computer Science

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is part of the Department of Defense and is responsible for improving national security and developing military technology. Their new division will now bring their work to the next level.

This new division seeks to design next-generation technologies through utilizing the power of biological systems while applying the tools of engineering. The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) will study cells, humans, and other organisms in the environments in which they operate in order to figure out a way to somehow apply them to national defense strategies.

"Biology is nature's ultimate innovator, and any agency that hangs its hat on innovation would be foolish not to look to this master of networked complexity for inspiration and solutions," said DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar in a testimony to the House of Representatives on March 26.

Technology and biology are constantly evolving. DARPA's mission is to stay ahead of the ever-growing sphere of technology and they believe that keeping up with biological evolution will be a key component in developing future national defense technology. The Biological Technologies Office has three focus areas for their mission: Restore and maintain warfighter abilities; Harness biological systems and; Apply biological complexity at a scale, according to a news release.

The BTO will not dive right into these areas just yet. They plan to first take on projects that are already underway in some of DARPA's other divisions, such as the Defense Sciences Office (DSO) and Microsystems Technology Office (MTO). This will help the new division get into the swing of things while they become acquainted with the current DARPA projects and then begin to integrate biology into the picture.

A few examples of incorporating biology into defense technologies include two ongoing projects called the SUBNETS program and the ADEPT program. The Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) program seeks to help injured veterans restore lost function while the Autonomous Diagnostics to Enable Prevention and Therapeutics (ADEPT) program is looking for ways to protect soldiers from infectious diseases.

To read more about DARPA as well as their new Biological Technologies Office, visit this CBS News article.