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Nanotube-Excreting Bacteria Allow Mass Production

Posted by Zonk on from the building-tech-from-the-ground-up dept.

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Engineers at the University of California, Riverside have found semiconducting nanotubes produced by living bacteria — a discovery that could help in the creation of a new generation of nanoelectronic devices. This is the first time nanotubes have been shown to be produced by biological rather than chemical means. In a process that is not yet fully understood, the bacterium secretes polysacarides that seem to produce the template for the arsenic-sulfide nanotubes. These nanotubes behave as metals with electrical and photoconductive properties useful in nanoelectronics. The article abstract is available from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

5 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. If they sh*t it, they eat it... by scsirob · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In general, nature re-uses everything. That means if bacteria excrete nanotubes, there are probably other organisms that feed on them. That makes me wonder if we'll find our wonderful nanotechnology will be vulnerable to organisms eating them...

    --
    To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
    1. Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... by digitally404 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, discussion on the nanotubes from bacteria usually talks about them being used to gain electron neutrality. Some bacteria may serve as acceptors, and others as the donors. What's interesting is that these tubes are also sometimes produced by bacteria seeking metallic elements in order to be able to "dump" their excess electrons, which may be used as a means of manufacturing them.

      Bacteria nanutubes have been discovered in 2006, but originally they were coined as nanoWIRES. This was before they took a closer look at the inner composition of the nanowires to discover that they were actually hollow. It's interesting that they have electrical properties.

      You know, in the future, the internet may quite literally become a series of tubes.

    2. Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... by mabhatter654 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      but these don't seem to be the same composition as the all carbon ones. The chemically made carbon nanotubes have big environmental problems because they're nearly indestructible. One of the original purposes thought of for Buckyballs (the round relative) was to carry molecules of medicine, but in lab rats the balls were so durable they tore thru individual cell walls... perhaps these will have a natural decay rate so they can be widely deployed.

  2. nanowire, nanotube and bacteria: not so new? by jjq · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've a question: it seems that nanowire and nanotube are the same objects. In that case, nothing so new. See http://www.geobacter.org/ and a paper in the June 23, 2005 issue of Nature about the geobacter bacteria. I did a funny use of it during the rump session of CRYPTO 2005 at UCSB, see http://www.iacr.org/conferences/crypto2005/rumpSchedule.html "The geobacter attack: when nanotechnology meets chips" with the slides and the video.

  3. Prey by sageimac · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Has anyone read "Prey" by Michael Crichton? This is scary science fiction coming true.