So, you’ve probably seen horses pulling carraiges or dogs hauling a sled through snow, but have you ever seen motors run by bacteria? This newest use of animal power requires a microscope to see the little critters in action. Researchers in Japan have found a way to use crawling bacteria to power a rotating micromotor. The rotor is made of silicon dioxide and powered by a strain of bacteria called Mycoplasma mobile, which are pear-shaped and just 1 micrometer long. When placed on a mat made of certain proteins, these bacteria crawl around. Scientists coat the groove underneath the rotor with a special protien that attracts the bacteria and then cover the rotor with another type of protein. The bacteria is coated with a substance that is attracted to the protein on the rotor and let loose into the grooves. The bacteria are encoraged to move in just one direction around the circle, and their movements cause them to brush against the rotor, causing it to turn. The bacteria movement is slow and the rotor spins only twice as fast as the second hand on a watch. However, with more bacteria, the rotor might be able to spin 100 times faster. Using bacteria to power machines has great potential in the future of “living machines” since bacteria run on simple sugars for fuel and can easily replicate and repair themselves.

Source:Bacteria Power a Tiny Motor