hippie flavor

“Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst evolved a new strain of the Geobacter microbe that increases power output per cell by 800%.

The hairy mud-loving microbe uses its hairlike filaments–called pili–to produce an electric current from both mud and waste water. The pili are only 5 nanometers in diameter (20,000 times smaller than a human hair); they’re also a thousand times longer than they are wide. But they are strong!

The pili–usually called nanowires–have an amazing ability to shift electrons. Which is exactly how they create a current from waste and mud.

Creating a unique biofilm, they transfer the electron products to iron in both soil and waste. It’s the same process that allows bacteria to stick to your teeth but requires less flossing.”