Nature:
Garden snails are one of several creatures that have been
implanted with biofuel cells that extract electricity from
glucose and oxygen in their blood. Evgeny Katz and colleagues
of Clarkson University in New York
reported in
last week's
Journal of the American Chemical Society that the
snails generate electricity when they're connected to an
external circuit via implanted electrodes. Beetles and
cockroaches have also been equipped with biofuel cells. One
potential application would be the use of biocompatible fuel
cells in humans to power small devices like pacemakers. While
batteries already exist for implanted medical devices, smaller
biofuel cells cold provide a more convenient and longer-lasting
source of power for them.
