By studying the behavior of living cells and combining them with synthetic tissue, researchers are creating “biological machines” to deliver drugs more effectively, function as internal diagnostic tools, or serve as contaminant sensors in the field. This work is facilitated by a multi-institution effort known as the Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS), which recently received $25 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) renewal funding for the next five years to build living, multi-cellular machines to solve environmental, health, and security problems.