Daily
Mail: Scientists are one step closer to creating power
stations that generate electricity from humble bacteria, writes
David Derbyshire for the
Daily Mail. Yesterday Tom Clarke of the University of
East Anglia and coworkers published their
results
in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They
have shown for the first time how microbes are able to
discharge tiny electrical currents from their cells to get rid
of unwanted electronsthe byproducts of converting food
into energy. By tethering bacteria directly to electrodes, the
researchers were able to tap into this potential source of
electricity, although at present the currents generated are too
weak to be useful. Nevertheless, because some bacteria feed off
pollutants, microbial fuel cells or “bio-batteries”
raise the possibility that in the future, bacteria could be
used to convert industrial waste, sewage, and uranium waste
into electricity.
