Virus powered batteries

The energy for tomorrow's miniature electronic devices could come fromtiny microbatteries about half the size of a human cell and built withviruses.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology in the US believe they can build them, thanks to a newadvance in battery technology.

By pouring a mixture of theharmless, genetically engineered M13 virus and the metal cobalt overstamped silicon film, Professor Angela Belcher and her colleagues havecreated a flexible, microscopic battery that could be cheaply massproduced.

In theory, it could turn virtually any surface - fromlarge computers to tiny implanted detectors for cancer or heart disease- into an energy-storing device.

"The idea of using stampingtechnique to produce a battery is pretty different," says Belcher. "Wecan make the batteries really small, which lets us put a power sourceon all sorts of tiny sensors."

Belcher and her colleagues created the first virus-powered battery in 2006.

Sincethen they have been refining their viral battery while working tocreate other novel energy-storing devices that could be woven intofabrics or poured into containers.

Source: abc.net.auAdded: 17 September 2008