In the development of biological battery made ​​a big step forward

Development team from the British University of East Anglia (University of East Anglia) was significant progress in the development of microbial food sources. Scientists working on a project to create a biological "battery", was opened by the molecular structure, which allows bacteria to transfer an electrical charge. Reportedly, this discovery provides new opportunities for further research to expand the effectiveness of such biological power sources, which are often called "living batteries".

Bacterium Shewanella oneidensis known capacity to recover heavy metals, as well as the biotransformation of carbon tetrachloride, which can potentially be used for cleaning water from heavy metals, to protect metals from corrosion. Refers to the gram-negative, facultative anaerobic bacteria of the genus Shewanella, dwells mainly on the seabed under anaerobic conditions, sediments, but can also be found in the soil. Scientists managed by X-ray crystallography to determine that these bacterial proteins are responsible for electron transfer. Better understanding of this mechanism should help in establishing methods for transmitting electricity from a "battery" to the electrode.