Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
First Motor Powered By Living Bacteria
Mycoplasma mobile, a micrometer-sized bacterium, pushes the rotor in the first motor powered by bacteria.
(Motor powered by living bacteria
1) Overview of silicon track
2) Two cells glide along the wall in the track
3) Bacteria bind to and pull the rotor)
The bacteria-driven motor consists of a square central basin into which the M. mobile are deposited. As they move throughout the square, they eventually reach a side and move along it until approaching an entrance to one of four circular tracks. The entrance ways ensure that a majority of bacteria glide in the same direction around the tracks, which are each fitted with rotors that have protrusions in the track to allow the bacteria to bind to and pull the rotors.
"Mycoplasma is just one example of microorganisms with interesting and potentially useful properties," Hiratsuka told PhysOrg.com. "For instance, there is a gliding bacterium that moves using energy provided by photosynthesis. Chlamyodomonas swim toward light (phototaxis), and Dictyostelium amoeba crawl toward a specific chemical substance (chemotaxis). Though there is no way we can predict what exciting micro devices will result from these organisms, for mycoplasma, we can suggest using it as a micro pump in a microTAS. This would eliminate the need for external pumps and pipes, becoming a ‘true’ on-chip device. We might also construct electric generator systems, which convert abundant chemical energy, glucose in the body, into electric energy. In far future plans, we would like to make micro-robots driven by biological motors, which could move around and do mechanical work in the micrometer world."
(From Bacteria-powered motor)
Once the bacteria reach the circular tracks, the rotors begin to move at speeds of up to 2.6 revolutions per minute.
If you are curious about other unusual achievements by bacteria, consider these articles:
- Humans Teach Bacteria New Language
A group of scientists are engineering an artificial cell-to-cell communication network by teaching bacteria to communicate with each other and to work together in a whole new way. - 'Cellborg' Humidity Gauge First Bacterial Cyborg
For the first time, a living bacterium is assimilated borg-style into an electronic circuit. Resistance is futile! - E. Coli Forced To Evolve: Old Bacterium Learns New Trick
The general method was remarkably similar to a technique used by award-winning sf author Theodore Sturgeon in his classic 1941 story Microcosmic God.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/13/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Biology ")
Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore
'The tree ended its wild larruping, stood like a dreaming giant liable to wake into frenzy at any moment.' - Eric Frank Russell, 1943.
Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals
'Swifter than any tide could ebb, the water was receding from the shore.'
EctoLife Concept Video Artificial Womb For Baby Mass Production
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made
and allowed to grow up under ideal conditions...' - Dr. David H. Keller, 1928.
T. Gondii And The Leaders Of The Pack
'... infected males were more than 46 times more likely to become pack leaders than uninfected males.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
