For decades, scientists have been on the prowl for advanced battery materials with features such as superior energy density or those that confer extra-long battery life leading to such futuristic designs as bendable batteries that mimic the human spine, to breathable nanochain structures. But maybe they have been looking in the wrong places, with nature’s own biological kingdom providing a potential solution. Generating electricity from thin air might sound like the stuff of science fiction; yet, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have unveiled a novel technology based on nanowire-sprouting bacteria that does just that. UMass electrical engineer Jun Yao and microbiologist Derek Lovley have introduced the Air-gen (or air-powered generator), which uses an unusual microbe belonging to the Geobacter genus, first discovered in the muddy sediments of the Potomac River. The trick? They produce conductive protein nanowires. Air-gen is able to generate an electrical current directly from […]