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56 Comments
- SkippyDoorknob, on 04/02/2009, -1/+35Please disable your virus scanner to ensure long battery life...
- NismoTigerWVU, on 04/02/2009, -0/+21Just to clear up a point the article didn't really make, these aren't anywhere near the type virus you think of.
These are bacteriophages, and have little to nothing in common with HIV or Influenza.
These little guys only have the capability of infecting bacteria, and specific types of bacteria at that.
There is no risk at all of any sort of infection from these and they are used in the lab all the time for genetic research.
In fact, phages have been tossed around as a possible type of treatment for antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Summary: It would be more accurate to say they are using medicine than an infectious agent.
PS. They look like little spaceships, go google for them, it's sort of funny.
Signed,
Your Friendly Local Biochemist - linuxps2, on 04/02/2009, -0/+15Oh, what can MIT not come up with?... You never hear much out of Georgia Tech anymore - what are they up to?...
- gutterboy, on 04/02/2009, -0/+11***** finally, I was just talking about this the other day. This technology was featured years ago in Discover Magazines top 100 science discoveries of the year. Ever since reading that, when my cell or laptop battery dies I say, "where the ***** are these virus batteries" These need to be consumer available asap. Also if you read one science article a year, read their top 100 feature. Basically it predicts the future of ***** you will see on the front page of digg four years from now. This year's - http://discovermagazine.com/columns/top-100-storie ...
- derekmas10, on 04/02/2009, -0/+9my other car is powered by genetic engineering
- Harabeck, on 04/02/2009, -0/+9Yes.
- JRowe3388, on 04/02/2009, -1/+7Hopefully they wont get bought out by Duracell or some other company that would prevent this from getting out. I'd assume it would be bad for their business if this were to be mainstream.
- rossisdead, on 04/02/2009, -0/+6People that digg down Back to the Future references must lead sad, miserable lives.
- zaffe, on 04/02/2009, -0/+6Can I lick it?
- inactive, on 04/02/2009, -0/+5Because they would never be interested in t making a better battery. They just want to keep you down with their old technology. Did you ever think they may be funding this?
- KevinMalone, on 04/02/2009, -2/+7I rather use my Mr. Fusion to power everything
- Sillywombat, on 04/02/2009, -0/+5There have been variations on this for the last 6 years. Using a virus or bacteria to recharge the sells in an neverending system.
Battery life would go through the roof, plus its ecologically sound as once the container (battery) has been opened, the organisme will just die out by being in open contact with the outside.
However, this story has been round for years (or variations of it anyway), and we are still waiting to see a prototype. At the moment, its still mostly theory. - UselessTrivia, on 04/02/2009, -0/+4Not to mention that lithium is a scarce resource.
- Harabeck, on 04/02/2009, -1/+5How the hell does that make the bacteria antibiotic resistant?
- JRowe3388, on 04/02/2009, -0/+3I thought the same thing. It says they don't affect humans in the article.
- andersleet, on 04/02/2009, -0/+3@nismo
Couldnt've said it better myself. Great post. - RaulMuadDib, on 04/02/2009, -0/+3Whoa!
- smuirhead, on 04/02/2009, -0/+3I frequently see articles about cool new ideas for batteries.
But I ask ... Where are all the cool new batteries?
NiMH came out in 1989. Lithium Ion in 1991 -- 18 years ago.
- imsocool123, on 04/02/2009, -0/+2win
- polypropglop, on 04/02/2009, -0/+2All I can think of is the Energizer bunny lying in a hospice bed, with his fur falling off and slowly atrophying away.
- ratherstupid, on 04/02/2009, -0/+2It won't affect humans, for now.
- davidg11, on 04/02/2009, -1/+3Hey, what can possibly go wrong?
AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WATCHED THE MOVIE "I AM LEGEND"?!
For god sakes people. - insanebrain, on 04/02/2009, -0/+2Yes you can.
- sodappop, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1FOR NOW.
Jesus did we not learn anything from I Am Legend?!
oh yeah... that was a movie.
and not a particularily good one. - nyxerebos, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1wtf?
- FreckleEars, on 04/06/2009, -0/+1Oil happened. So did greedy corporations that want to control the economy and slow down technological/scientific progress.
- inactive, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1with such lousy sports teams what do you expect..Ha
- nyxerebos, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1No. It couldn't. And the batteries aren't 'powered' by viruses, they use viruses to self-assemble a structure with a high surface area. By the time it's been made into a battery the virus is intert. This is like worrying about being pecked to death by chicken McNuggets.
- Phych, on 04/02/2009, -2/+3I think I saw you the other day! I took a pic as you drove by.
http://tinyurl.com/d7pdkj - hazard99, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1Ingenious idea but couldn't that virus mutate to infect humans or any other organism?
It wouldn't happen overnight, but I'm not sure if this possibility can't be ruled out. I'm not like "OMG WTF ***** STOP!" I'm just a bit wary. - derekmas10, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1Actually, there's an I AM LEGEND reference several lines up.
The best part of it is where it refers to how lame that movie was. - FreckleEars, on 04/06/2009, -0/+1but we wouldn't recommend it.
- logan47, on 04/03/2009, -0/+1We certainly need better and cheaper battery technology for future EVs.
More news and information at:
http://greencar.goingreentech.com/
http://www.goingreentech.com/ - derekmas10, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1Actually, I have a medicine cabinet full.
- greevar, on 04/02/2009, -0/+1I sure dig them Georgia peaches. Makes me feel right at home.
- insanebrain, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1No. . .that one was on the 10th Minute.
- losblack, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1Sick!
- sodappop, on 04/02/2009, -0/+0I've watched voyager! I know what the phage can do!
(wait... did I just admit to watching voyager!?) - rcpiercy, on 04/02/2009, -1/+11. Bacteriophage inject genetic material into bacteria in order to replicate themselves.
2. Geneticists posit that upwards of half of our DNA is composed of viral genetics.
3. The highly unlikely event of a phage changing bacterial DNA into an antibiotic resistant strain and a bacterium surviving infection is magnified when the phage in the environment is magnified by something like a phage battery.
4. Bacteria populations would decrease, leaving room for genetic drift.
I could go on, but you get the point. These things are nasty, whether they infect humans or not. - JRowe3388, on 04/03/2009, -1/+1Longer battery life = less batteries that are sold = loss in profit
- cheezintern, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1The only thing useful that comes out of Georgia is peanuts.
- deathcapt, on 04/02/2009, -2/+2agreed, buried,
- NikoKun, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1Creepy... Wasn't there an episode of 11th Hour on this?
- RoanokeRich, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1insert matrix comment here:
- robystar, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1Will that be Double AIDS or Herpacells?
- cquilliam, on 04/02/2009, -1/+1Great, just what we need, more OEM lock-in of Redmond OS's
- Ramble, on 04/03/2009, -1/+1It's a book.
- morepowerr, on 04/03/2009, -1/+1Thats nice now make me a ***** replacater all ready I a sick of paying for *****. or at least make growing himp legal so we can make ***** out of it.
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