Nanotube-Excreting Bacteria Allow Mass Production 73
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Engineers at the University of California, Riverside have found semiconducting nanotubes produced by living bacteria — a discovery that could help in the creation of a new generation of nanoelectronic devices. This is the first time nanotubes have been shown to be produced by biological rather than chemical means. In a process that is not yet fully understood, the bacterium secretes polysacarides that seem to produce the template for the arsenic-sulfide nanotubes. These nanotubes behave as metals with electrical and photoconductive properties useful in nanoelectronics. The article abstract is available from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
nanowire, nanotube and bacteria: not so new? (Score:4, Interesting)
Prey (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... (Score:3, Interesting)
Bacteria nanutubes have been discovered in 2006, but originally they were coined as nanoWIRES. This was before they took a closer look at the inner composition of the nanowires to discover that they were actually hollow. It's interesting that they have electrical properties.
You know, in the future, the internet may quite literally become a series of tubes.
Re:If they sh*t it, they eat it... (Score:3, Interesting)