Scientific Breakthrough: Scientists Generate Usable Electricity From Viruses

[link to newscenter.lbl.gov]

[link to www.zdnet.com]

Summary: Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a method for generating power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The same means of generating a charge that allows scanning probe microscopes, cigarette lighters, and push-start propane barbecues to function can now be harnessed from viruses.

Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a way to generate power using a virus called M13 bacteriophage to convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The technology could one day lead to gadgets like smartphones that harvest energy from everyday movements, such as walking.

The newly created generator is the first to produce electricity by harnessing the piezoelectric properties of a biological material, according to a news release. Piezoelectricity is the accumulation of a charge in a solid in response to mechanical pressure.

LESS THAN 50% RULE USED, see the rest at either of the above sources.

Sounds pretty creepy to me. Thoughts?