Scientists Implant Biofuel Cells Into Rats

RedmondChris writes "A team of scientists from Joseph Fourier University in France have successfully implanted biofuel cells into rats, generating 6.5 microwatts by harnessing the power of glucose. From the article: 'The device uses enzymes to harvest energy from glucose and oxygen found naturally in the body. Past attempts at using such a device in animals have failed because the enzymes have required acidic conditions or were inhibited by charged particles in the fluid surrounding cells. But Philippe Cinquin and his team from Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France, overcame these obstacles by confining selected enzymes inside graphite discs that were placed into dialysis bags. Glucose and oxygen flowed into the device, but enzymes stayed in place and catalyzed the oxidation of glucose to generate electrical energy.'"

Comments

Life imitates the movies....

[GaryOlson]

Except The Matrix is a The Maze full of rats.

The Matrix

[zaydana]

I guess its only a matter of time before we have big towers full of humans in glowy red fluid which generate electricity. And hovercrafts, lots of hovercrafts.

Re:The Matrix

[Hurricane78]

My hovercraft is full of humans.
Do you wayaahhnt... do you wahaant to come back to my Matrix? Bouncy bouncy!

Yes, but how will we tax it?

[davidwr]

If the carbon tax passes, do we tax it based on the amount of carbon in the glucose, or what???

Re:Yes, but how will we tax it?

[sys.stdout.write]

I love how your first thought after reading about a new scientific breakthrough is "How can we tax this???"

You should run for office in Massachusetts.

Re:Yes, but how will we tax it?

[lena_10326]

Massachutax.

Re:Yes, but how will we tax it?

[dontbgay]

It seems as if your sig contains some irony.

Re:Yes, but how will we tax it?

[rjch]

This is why we need cap and trade, not a carbon tax. If I can produce energy that's carbon neutral, I'll get paid to be fat

The problem with that is that generally speaking the fatter you are, the more you fart. Since there's carbon dioxide and quite frequently methane in the resulting... expulsion... you're contributing to global warming that way.

Back To The Future

[AnotherAnonymousUser]

Marty: Are you telling me that this sucker is nuclear?
Doc Brown: No, no, no, no, no. This sucker's electrical. But I need a rat to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity I need.

Re:Back To The Future

[ArsonSmith]

I'm sure in 1985 you can get a rat in any corner drug store, but in 1953 they're a little hard to come by.

(was it 1953? don't feel like looking it up)

Re:Back To The Future

[Rollgunner]

For 1.21 gigawatts, you're going to need a little over 200 trillion rats (at 6.5 milliwatts each)... I do not volunteer to do the wiring.

Metabolism number two

[MachDelta]

Wow, a second metabolism for charging my cellphone/laptop/plug-in hybrid? Sounds great! I wonder approximately how many miles of range you could get out of a big mac? "Yeah I better supersize that sucker, i'm headed out of town this weekend!"

Re:Metabolism number two

[MichaelSmith]

More likely an insulin pump and eventually an artificial heart.

Re:Metabolism number two

[MichaelSmith]

Coupled to internal LED safety lights? I hate bumping into naked people in dark alleys.

Re:Metabolism number two

[Kreigaffe]

That was my first thought. This could bring Americans back from the brink of fat jokes and into the forefront of human-powered portable devices -- while slimming us down at the same time. Think about that! No change in lifestyle or habits, but you're thinner AND you don't have to plug your cellphone in ever again!

My second thought was "holy sweet shit I want a laser in my index finger"

Enough power for a pacemaker?

[hrvatska]

After reading TFA, I was left wondering if this technique could be used to generate enough power to eliminate or reduce the need to replace pacemaker batteries.

Re:Enough power for a pacemaker?

[hrvatska]

I had heard that current rechargeable pacemakers aren't as popular as the non-rechargeable units because they're much bigger and bulkier than non-rechargeable units.

Re:Enough power for a pacemaker?

[Ichijo]

I had heard that current rechargeable pacemakers aren't as popular as the non-rechargeable units because they're much bigger and bulkier than non-rechargeable units.

If it's due to the size of the battery, this glucose fuel cell could eliminate the need for batteries entirely.

Re:Enough power for a pacemaker?

[bkr1_2k]

Think outside of the USA. There is no reason to replace something (especially a pace maker) if it's functioning properly. That said, there's also no reason someone couldn't go in for an "upgrade" if they had some reason they thought their "decades-old machinery" wasn't working properly.

Re:Enough power for a pacemaker?

[pinkushun]

The maximum power of the device was 6.5 microwatts, which approaches the 10 microwatts required by pacemakers.

"I'm optimistic that we will get tens of milliwatts in future versions," he says.

"Reading TFA", suuuure...

Diabetics

[AMMalena]

Anyone consider the possibility of a device that not only produces energy from the body, but also uses up glucose? A device that conceivably could both help eat up Glucose and POWER a MONITOR to help see how the diabetic is doing??

I happen to be a highly insulin-resistant Type 2, and this was the first thing I thought of when I read this.

Re:Diabetics

[marciot]

I can totally see a hypoglycemic person frantically fumbling through his pockets to turn on enough electronic gadgets to burn up all the extra glucose before it's too late.

"My netbook is going into power saving mode? NOOOOOO!"

Re:Diabetics

[compro01]

That should be hyperglycemic. Hypoglycemic means the blood sugar is too low.

Re:Diabetics

[GuruBuckaroo]

Just... just fuck you. Seriously.

Re:Diabetics

[Hurricane78]

What you failed to mention, is that he neither had any teeth, hair, money or immune system left.
(If that reminds you of a zombie, you’re not the only one.)

Only a matter of time

[EdIII]

Customer: Yes, I would like the biofuel cell package installed.
Store Rep: No problem... how much were you looking for?
Customer: I got one of those new holographic iGotta2HavIt's and about 15 pounds to lose....
Store Rep: You want the BF2000.... now of course you will also need the battery pack installed which is this 12 inch long unit we shove...
Customer: Does that come in black?
Store Rep: Lot's of people ask that... yes we do.

A message from Apple Computers

[Torodung]

Remember: You will not be able to change the batteries on your iRat. There are no serviceable parts inside.

We'll be getting more of this magical product to market, as soon as Steve finishes playing his iPipe.

If your kids go missing, don't worry, Think Furry (TM)

--
Toro

It's funny to watch

[Tibia1]

rats undergo a series of scientific experiments through the ages. They'll be the first to get neural implants that highly increase cognitive function. They'll be the first to connect to the internet directly through the brain. Aliens might assume they are more intelligent than us on first glance. Sitting around reproducing, reaping the rewards of science while humans do all the gruntwork...

They have been planning this from the beginning.

Re:It's funny to watch

[gmrath]

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"

Re:effects on the host?

[JoshuaZ]

The major advantage is that it becomes a plausible source of power for implanted devices. Health monitoring devices but also storage, computer interfaces, pretty much anything you can imagine. This sort of technology makes cyborg implants much more plausible.

Re:effects on the host?

[GuruBuckaroo]

Yeah, but how many watts can you get just by burning a pile of dead rats?

All for me to browse /.

[masterwit]

If one rat generates 6.5 microwatts, this current computer requires 650 watt psu, that is ~100 million rats to power my computer without a display...give or take other factors not-considered. Additionally, a single rat consumes lets say hypothetically 200 calories a day (I couldn't find a real number). That means I would need 20 billion calories to power my computer for a day off rats. If the average nuclear power plant produces roughly 1000 MW, and if that energy could be converted to calories to feed rats, that means that a nuclear power plant could only feed enough rats to power 85,000 machines.

That retarded example above, even if the efficiencies were improved and the calories needed per rat were reduced, tells me that that this is not a very efficient way to generate power. I'll stick to other methods for now...
 
Disclaimer: Yes this is bad science, yes this is bad math, yes sig figs were ignored, yes technology can improve into the future, yes my sources are Google search results, rabble rabble rabble...

Re:effects on the host?

[fractoid]

i have to wonder what the effects on the host would be. sounds like a really complex way to generate power rath then just burning the fuel to produce steam etc.

Or getting them to turn a crank or walk on a treadmill... Just doing some exercise is the simplest, healthiest AND it helps your muscles turn into something that prospective partners would *want* to look at.

Re:A true renewable power solution

[fractoid]

I'd hope that these power sources are hooked up to pacemakers or other bio-med devices... Current batteries are OK, but require surgery to replace.

Whereas these new batteries are OK, but require sugary to replace?

Re:These scientists, I tell ya.

[Kreigaffe]

I'd be more worried about what the scientists were doing in kids in the first place, but that's just me

Re:Why just blood sugar?

[Jesus_666]

Yeah, it sounds nice on paper but that's 0.6 Essence and 8,000 Nuyen you're looking at, chummer. Sure, if you rely on DocWagon to save your hide that display might just give them the time to do so but if you catch a bullet you don't need a chunk of cyberware to tell you you're bleeding. Well, unless you're a chrome junkie with a pain editor, in which case the 0.6 Essence ain't an issue anymore.