A Virus that Generates Electricity!

Viruses are often associated with disease, but many viruses are benign and even helpful, like bacteriophages that eat harmful, antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now, Berkeley researchers have reported that engineered viruses also can generate electricity when exposed to heat, a finding that may pave the way for next-generation biosensors and diagnostic tools.
As reported in the journal Advanced Materials, researchers discovered for the first time “heat-induced electrical potential generation on a virus,” a phenomenon known as pyroelectricity. This work may shed light on how biomaterials - cells, tissues and proteins - generate electricity at a molecular level as well as lead to the development of biomaterials with novel medical, pharmaceutical, environmental and energy applications.
Viruses possess some remarkable properties that make them an ideal model system for studying the links between structure and function in the generation of bioelectricity,” said Lee. “These include the ability to quickly self-replicate at a massive scale, evolve and - because of their identical shape and material - self-assemble like chopsticks in a box.
Researchers demonstrated the bioelectric potential of the engineered M13 virus more than 10 years ago. Researchers reported on the piezoelectric properties of these viruses and their ability to generate electricity in response to pressure.
By genetically engineering the phage’s external protein structures, the researchers discovered that they could enhance its piezoelectric performance. And while M13 viruses lack the direct ability to sense heat, the researchers had observed that they undergo structural changes in response to thermal stimuli. These characteristics led them to suspect that the phages might possess pyroelectric properties.
This approach to engineering phages with tailored pyroelectric properties could open the door to other applications. This includes building handheld devices that use pyroelectricity to sense other viruses and detect new strains.

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WOW! Now they need to figure out how people can have them in their homes to use them to generate electricity and get paid by companies that generate electricity for doing that so people that want to work from home can do that without dealing with fartknocker coworkers!How soon do you think they'll figure it out?! Is it going to be hard or hardy-hard in your opinion?!