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Devices Powered By Bacteria In Your Future
A clever use for a relative of the tuberculosis bacterium can convert hydrogen from the air into electricity. Maybe that hydrogen could power a small device?
M. smegmatis is a nonpathogenic, fast-growing bacterium often used in the lab to study the cell wall structure of its close, disease-causing relative, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Commonly found in soil all over the world, M. smegmatis has long been known to convert trace hydrogen in the air into energy.
Further experiments revealed that the isolated Huc enzyme can be stored for prolonged periods; that it survives being frozen or heated up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius); and that it can consume hydrogen at concentrations as minuscule as 0.00005% of that found in the air we breathe. These attributes, alongside the microbe's ubiquity and ability to be easily grown, could make the enzyme an ideal candidate for a power source in organic batteries, the researchers say.
(Via livescience)
Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick was one of the first to suggest pairing up modern electronics with tiny portions of living systems to create new products was Philip K. Dick.
As far as every day consumer products are concerned, you can't beat the Ampek F-a2 Recording System:
(Read more about Dick's Ampek F-a2 Recording System)
Here are some related stories you might enjoy:
The enzyme, which has been named Huc, is used by the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis to draw energy from atmospheric hydrogen, enabling it to survive in extreme, nutrient-poor environments.
Nat Flieger reflexively poured water into a cup and fed the living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system which he kept in his office; the Ganymedean life form did not experience pain and had not yet objected to being made over into a portion of an electronic system... neurologically it was primitive, but as an auditory receptor it was unexcelled.
- 'Mechanical Tumor' Meatspace Expression Of Computer Stress
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- Biotic Video Games Use Living Cells
- Cyborg Tissues Combine Transistors and Cells
- Human On A Chip
- Graphene Cytobot - Cyborg Bacterial Spores May Help Astronauts
- Cyborg Cardiac Patch Combines Organics And Electronics
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/19/2023)
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