Science has come up with a new way to terrify us with the news that a team of researchers from MIT may have created an all-new green battery made up of genetically-engineered viruses.
According to reports, Professor Angela Belcher's MIT team have created viruses that will form both a negatively charged anode and a positively charged cathode that takes place at room temperature and is entirely absent of toxic materials:
Belcher explained that the virus created a network of highly conductive material and because it is able to recognize and bind specifically to certain materials, each iron phosphate nanowire can be electrically "wired" to conducting carbon nanotube networks. As a result electrons can travel along the carbon nanotube networks, percolating throughout the electrodes to the iron phosphate and transferring energy in a very short time.
The discovery has already been demonstrated to President Obama, and the team is currently looking at ways to increase power and longevity of the virus batteries with a view to possible commercial production. Before everyone else in the world begins to share my worry about relying on viruses to power our lives, Belcher's team would like to point out that the viruses used are completely harmless to humans. Or so they say...
MIT team touts sci-fi style "virus battery" [Business Green]