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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."

11 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 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. 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. Owwie! by mbstone · · Score: 4, Funny

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

  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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?

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

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