Supercapacitor

Supercapacitors are, in effect, rechargeable batteries, but a biological supercapacitor is a tiny (1micrometer thick) device that holds a charge extracted from body fluids, such as blood or urine. As this piece describes it: “The supercapacitor is made out of a carbon nanomaterial, graphene, layered with modified human proteins acting as an electrode and a conductor through which electricity from the energy harvester can enter or leave. This new platform could be used to develop next-generation implantable devices that could speed up bone growth, promote healing, or stimulate the brain.”   Among other things, this could permit pacemakers that don’t need replacement batteries.   MORE

Image Credit:   Islam Mosa/University of Connecticut and Maher El-Kady/UCLA