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Sun-powered bacteria turn nasty CO2 into helpful biofuel
Cars emit polluting carbon dioxide (CO2) when they burn gas, but what if you could reverse the process? Scientists from the University of Washington have engineered a bacteria that can do just that: pull CO2 from the air and, using sunlight, convert it to methane and hydrogen gas. The organism only produces a limited amount of fuel, but the results could lead to ways to reduce CO2 in the air and produce useful fuel at the same time.
Gene-modified soil bacteria promise eco-friendly computing
You normally need non-renewable elements or minerals to create nanowires. However, the US Navy's Office of Naval Research may have a better solution: the life living in the dirt under your feet. Its sponsored researchers have crafted nanowires from genetically modified Geobacter, a bacteria you find in soil just about everywhere on Earth. The team altered the bacteria so that it would replace amino acids with tryptophan, which is a much better electrical conductor (2,000 times) at the nanoscopic scale. String enough of those bacteria together and you suddenly have wiring that's virtually invisible to the human eye. They wires are tougher and smaller, too, so they stand a better chance of surviving inside electronics.
Scientists dream up a power station staffed by bacteria
If The Matrix is to be taken as a serious manifesto for the future of technology, then living organisms are a great source of potential energy. Now, a team at Oxford University has given some weight to the idea after successfully simulating a biological power station. Researchers used computers to model the behavior of bacteria as it swam around a liquid suspension. When they subsequently added a network of donkey wheel-like structures, the bacteria began moving in predictable patterns around the wheels. The motion was sufficient to generate tiny amounts of energy that could be used to power microscopic gadgets.
Programming language makes circuits out of bacteria
Biological circuits have been a reality for years. However, making them is no mean feat: you typically have to create everything from scratch, which is impractical for everyone but a specialized genetic engineer. MIT has a better way, though. It developed a programming language that makes it comparatively easy to produce these organic machines -- you just write code (based on existing computer instructions) and get a bacteria-friendly DNA sequence that does what you want. In the lab, sample circuits in E. coli did everything from ranking inputs to measuring oxygen levels.
Microrobots use the power of bacteria to avoid obstacles
We don't need to scale down Google's self-driving system to make microrobots that can swim in fluid while avoiding obstacles. Drexel University professor MinJun Kim and his team of engineers have discovered how to use bacteria to do so. See, Serratia marcescens, the flagellated microorganism commonly associated with urinary tract and respiratory infections, carries a negative charge. If you smear that on a tiny chip, you get a negatively charged microrobot that can stay afloat (thanks to the bacteria's flagella) and swim around by riding electric fields applied to its environment.
NASA to test sugary bacteria as space-based power source
Following its successful harvest of red leaf lettuce, NASA has announced plans to launch genetically engineered bacteria into orbit to see if they can be harnessed by future astronauts as potent survival resource. The experiment is scheduled to take place in 2017 and will study the genus Anabaena. The sugars that these cyanobacterium photosynthesize can be fed to other genetically-modified bacteria in a system the agency calls PowerCell. These second-stage bacteria would, in turn, generate chemicals, food, fuel and even medicine for far-flung astronauts. "The first pilgrims who came to the Americas didn't bring all their food for the rest of their lives," Lynn Rothschild of NASA's Ames Research Center, said in a statement. "You need to live off the land."
This 'Plant Lamp' uses bacteria to generate electricity
Maintaining infrastructure in the rainforest is a pretty tall order -- the area is dense with vegetation and prone to intense moisture and flooding. Villages like Nuevo Saposoa in Peru have had their electrical grids disabled or destroyed by the elements, leaving residents at the mercy of daylight or the fumes of kerosene lamps to work, read or study. Researchers at Peru's Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología have created a novel solution: an LED lamp powered by a houseplant.
Bacteria-powered folding batteries could power paper biosensors
We've seen flexible displays for some time now, and engineers at Binghamton University developed an origami-inspired foldable battery. The folding part is great, but these batteries are also powered by bacteria and made from paper, providing an low-cost option for remote locales where resources are scarce. That all sounds good, but what are the potential uses? Well, paper-based biosensors have been around for a bit too, but they usually have to be paired with some sort of device to be of any use. The goal is to create tech that allows those sensors to power themselves. Currently, the battery folds down to about the size of a matchbook and costs five cents to make.
Yogurt bacteria could replace colonoscopies for cancer detection
Let's face it: colonoscopies are pretty unpleasant. But what if you could eat a spoonful of yogurt to check for cancer rather than enduring that procedure? MIT professor Sangeeta Bhatia is working on engineered bacteria that detects colorectal cancer. After the nanoparticles pass through the digestive system, a urine sample shows results on a reactive paper -- similar to that of a pregnancy test. In addition to being much less invasive, the high-powered yogurt method doesn't require a lab full of equipment, making it an attractive alternative for poor locales. Here's to hoping scientists figure out a better way to get through a root canal next. [Photo credit: Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post via Getty Images]
