BOSTON, Aug. 25, 2010 — Scientists today reported development of a new battery-like device that opens the possibility that people one day could “recharge” cell phones, laptops, and other portable electronics in an unlikely way ― with a sugar fix from a shared sip of soda pop or even a dose of vegetable oil.
They described the device, the first fuel cell that produces electricity with technology borrowed from the biological powerhouses that energize people and other living things on Earth, here at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
“This is the first demonstration of a new class of biofuel cells,” said Shelley Minteer, Ph.D., who presented the report. “When further developed, these devices have the potential for replacing disposable and rechargeable batteries in a wide variety of consumer electronics and other products.
It is the first such device based on one of the microscopic parts of the billions upon billions of cells that make up the body.”
Just as the human body has internal organs like the liver and the heart, cells that make up the body have internal structures termed organelles (“little organs”).
For the new biofuel cell, Minteer and colleagues chose one of the most amazing organelles: the mitochondria.
Sometimes called the cell’s own powerhouses, mitochondria transform the calories in food into chemical energy that the body needs to sustain life.
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link to portal.acs.org]
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This was reported back in January
A Chinese woman claims she has invented a method for powering mobile phones with cans of soft drink Coca-Cola. [
link to www.smartcompany.com.au]
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