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Bacteria Can Build Nanowires

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have discovered that under certain conditions, some very common bacteria can form nanowires. These bacteria were able to produce nanowires as small as 10 nanometers in diameter, but which can reach hundreds of microns in length. What is interesting here is that these nanowires are electrically conductive ones. This means that bacteria could be used to build microbial fuel cells or bacteria-powered batteries. As one researcher said, 'Earth appears to be hard-wired.'"

11 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Bob the bacteria by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bob the bacteria.
    Can we build it?
    Yes we can!

    Sorry, not enough caffeine

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
  2. Boring. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yawn. Wake me when they have bacteria that eat the flesh of Roland Piquepaille.

  3. Re:Mutation danger by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 2, Funny

    Considering how rapidly bacteria tend to evolve, entrusting the production of wires to them may have unforseen and possibly devastating consequences.

    Don't Worry!! We can Genetically Engineer(TM) that evolution out of the little critters! Plus We can make them construct the wires, Better, Stronger, Faster!!! No I didn't see Jurassic Park, What's your Point!?!!?

    Gene Therapy(TM) is the Future of the Human Race!!!!! Of All Life on Earth!!!11111oneoneeleven

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    May the Maths Be with you!
  4. What would you clean the wires with? by celardore · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you used any kind of germicide or the like on your wires / kit, you'd be screwed!

  5. Obligatory by Dekortage · · Score: 1, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new electrical bacterium overlords.

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  6. Hooray and W00t in order. by rtyall · · Score: 3, Funny

    This could mean we'll all get to have mobile phones that we can barely even see the screen on, because they're so small. Fuck sidekicks, nanobutton phones where it's at.

  7. Virus scan your batteries by mjjw · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just don't run a virus scan on your laptop power supply.

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    If you aren't far left by the age of 18 you have no heart. If you aren't far right by 30 you have no brain.
  8. I knew Douglas Adams was right. by Jsleeman · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Earth appears to be hard-wired." The Earth is a giant super computer and the answer to the Universe is 42!

  9. Re:My teacher was a bacteria colony? by rowama · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ms. Coli: Today's lesson is brought to you by the letter "W"

    Engineer student: Oh I thought this was Hardware Design 101, not politics.

    Surfer: Dude, y'er thinking Dubya. The prof wants to talk about Wire again this semester.

    Ms. Coli: Actually, we will be talking about Wire for the next 3.5 million semesters. Today we begin trying to understand why it hurts when the wire comes out.

  10. I wonder by StarfishOne · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder if we will ever see companies like Intel and AMD hiring people trained in a biological field. :)

    Pentium, Bacterium.. what's in a name? :D

    Or: the new PetriDish(tm) cpu: bringing multimedia and culture to your desktop! ;P

  11. Re:Bacteria powered pacemakers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bacteria can build conductive nanowires? Wow. The chances of anything so incredibly useful evolving by chance are so small, I think this could be used as a proof for the nonexistence of God.