Australian researchers have worked out how to make electricity out of thin air with the help of an enzyme that could leave batteries for dead.
The hero at the centre of the Monash University discovery is a hydrogen-munching enzyme from a common bacterium found in soil.
And it brings the holy grail of battery-free, air-powered personal devices a big step closer to reality.
The discovery began years ago with the work of Prof. Chris Greening, who worked out that some bacteria living in nutrient-poor environments use the small amounts of hydrogen in the atmosphere as an energy source.
“But we didn’t know how they did this until now,” Greening said….