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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2006 : 16:52:56
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Cyanobacteria microbes which grow iron-and-protein nanowires, and use them to conduct electrons into their environment, have been discovered. They are prime targets of genetic engineering which may make practical microbial fuel cells possible in the future. This, from Discovery Magazine's Web site:
Two cyanobacteria "reach out" with
protein-and-iron nanowires to deposit
electrons in their environment. The
nanowires could eventually be harnessed
to make more powerful bacterial fuel cells.
(photo: Yuri Gorby)
quote:
Wirehaired Bacteria
A new study finds that several classes of bacteria can be coaxed into sprouting tiny, electrically conductive wires.
By Virginia Hughes
July 27, 2006 | Technology
A study released last week reveals that many kinds of bacteria sometimes grow minuscule protein-and-iron wires that conduct electricity. The researchers say the wired microbes "will give us insights into all of microbiology that we can't even dream of yet," potentially allowing us to build more-efficient biological fuel cells and understand an important dynamic in the life of bacteria.
The microbes in question have a natural ability to pluck electrons off their food or other things in their environment and transfer those electrons to nearby metal ions or oxygen molecules. Nobody knows for sure why the microbes do this in nature, but their talents are intriguing to engineers because this electron parade generates a small electrical current—a tiny source of renewable energy.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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