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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."

21 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 hyades1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      This phenomenon is well-known, and has frequently been described in scientific literature under the term "Politicojournalistivorism".

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    2. Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... by GroeFaZ · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Every living organism is a special case of chemistry, so if an organism secretes something, that something might also be broken down without help of an organism, so yes, it's possible, but not necessary. Furthermore, should the need arise, I'm sure stuff made from carbon nanotubes can be made resistant to consumption by organisms for its expected lifetime just as for example a wooden ship, or a sheet of paper, or food, or whatever, can.

      --
      The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
    3. Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... by hanshotfirst · · Score: 2, Funny

      Furthermore, should the need arise, I'm sure stuff made from carbon nanotubes can be made resistant to consumption by organisms for its expected lifetime just as for example a wooden ship, or a sheet of paper, or food, or whatever, can.
      Unless you own a Labrador retriever. Trust me, they'll eat anything. Mine has an affinity for checkbook registers, including the vinyl cover.
      --
      Why, oh why, didn't I take the Blue Pill?
    4. 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.

    5. 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. more like a series of tubes by User+956 · · Score: 3, Funny

    In a process that is not yet fully understood, the bacterium secretes polysacarides that seem to produce the template for the arsenic-sulfide nanotubes.

    Yes, well, at least they've been proven to not be a truck.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  3. Awesome... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    A new process to create a multi-core CPU and beer at the same time!

  4. arsenic-sulphide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wouldn't that mean that the waste would be arsenic and sulphide? Just what we need, landfills with arsenic and sulphide leaching into ground water.

    1. Re:arsenic-sulphide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Everyone knows not to mix e-waste with normal garbage, so it doesn't end up in landfills.

  5. I keeeeeeel him by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

    The son of a camel who wrote this article has taken the name of the sacred one(BBHHH) in vain! One hundred lashes is not too many!

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Owwie! by mbstone · · Score: 4, Funny

    It must really hurt to excrete a nanotube. Maybe some nanoprunes would help.

  7. Bulletin from University of California, Riverside by prollifik · · Score: 3, Informative

    See also this link. There's a picture. http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1730

  8. 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.

  9. The really interesting part by rbnigh · · Score: 4, Informative

    These researchers are so focussed on industrial production of nanotubes (big bucks) that the completely forget to mention the really interesting part of their 'discovery'. Bacteria exude polysaccharides to create biofilms, the principal expression of bacterial populations in nature. What are the implications of this for the way bacteria control ecosystems? And, by the way,if we don't have a clue as to what is going on here, wouldn't it be prudent to understand a little more before *we* start exuding nanotubes hither and thither?

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

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

  11. I'm still working on it ... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've been trying to train myself to excrete nanotubes, but so far all I've gotten are macrorods.

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  12. Correction to dept. by callmevinny · · Score: 2, Funny

    building-tech-from-the-bottom-up

  13. Arsenic sulfide? by perbert · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is just me, or is there irony in the fact that the nanopoop is AsS?

  14. Re:Bulletin from University of California, Riversi by prollifik · · Score: 2, Informative

    My bad. I read the abstract and didn't notice the article.

  15. Re:Swarm by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it's actually a damaging book, in that it actively attempts to hobble a science before it was anywhere near that level of complexity.

    Crichton may write what is passed off as "science" fiction, but he's fundamentally anti-technology, anti-progress, and unlike a Clarke or a Heinlein he's not always very careful about working through the numbers to make sure his vision of the future is even remotely probable. I can't stand his stuff for that reason, it's always the same thing. Man reaches for something he doesn't have the wisdom to handle properly, and gets bitchslapped by Mother Nature for overstepping his bounds. It's a common theme running through his books.

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.