SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Viruses Used to Power Tiny Device
from BBC News Online
Scientists in the US have developed a way to generate electricity using viruses. The researchers built a generator with a postage stamp-sized electrode and based on a small film of specially engineered viruses. When a finger tapped the electrode, the viruses converted the mechanical energy into electricity.
The research by a team in California has been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Materials that can convert mechanical energy into electricity are known as "piezoelectric."
"More research is needed, but our work is a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics," said Dr Seung-Wuk Lee at the University of California, Berkeley.
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