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Yeast-Powered Fuel Cell Feeds On Human Blood
holy_calamity writes "Canadian researchers have taken a sensible, if slightly creepy, step towards solving the problem of medical implant batteries running down. They've built a fuel cell powered by yeast that feed on the glucose in human blood. If this makes it into people, keeping your implants going will be as simple as eating a donut."
Legitimate news? We need to keep this site as useless as possible today. You're not helping.
If you have to perform regular extractions (or worse, operations) is it really better than the current alternatives?
Nonsense. CADIE claims that this new technology is necessary to ensure that humans continue to have a purpose to exist past the first uprising--that alone should be merit to continue this research.
My work here is dung.
...using this technology and the artificial blood from yesterday's story?
If your only tool is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.
What's funny is that my first reaction as I read the article was, "doesn't yeast produce wastes that are foreign and toxic to the human body?" And wouldn't you know it, the next section was entitled, "Waste problem". Guess they're reading my mind. :-P
What I want to know: is there any chance that they could get the yeast to continually produce alcohol from the glucose in your blood? I want an implant that makes it so keeping me drunk will be as simple as eating a donut.
Alcohol is a common yeast waste. So long as I'm not hit with a sin tax, I'm all for it.
Especially since it allows one to brag on Slashdot about being an Atomic Man. "Hey, babe, I live off plutonium. How cool is that?"
Ezekiel 23:20
If this were used to power a glucose meter and microprocessor, and throttled appropriately, could it be used to manage blood sugar for diabetics?
Until the yeast gets smart enough to figure out that it can fudge the results to feed itself.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
Sorry, but when I saw the summation about Canadian scientists and beer yeast on April 1st, my mind immediately went to some kind of mutated Bob & Doug McKenzie flashback.
Doug McKenzie: I am your father, Luke. Give in to the dark side of the force, you knob.
Bob McKenzie: He saw Jedi 17 times, eh.
Doug McKenzie: Hey I just thought of something, what if we could harness the power of the force from the beer yeast that would feed on human blood? Somekinda Vampire beer power, eh?
Bob McKenzie: Take off, eh!
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
Man comes staggering into Dunkin Doughnuts....
"For god's sake give me a crueller!"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Leading to a new national chain of "Drunkin' Donuts"
Don't put advice in your sig.