A sip of soda to 'recharge' your laptops and cellphones

With more developed biofuel cells, they might be able to replace the rechargable and disposal batteries in electronics. Scientists have chosen the organelle, mitochondria, as a biofuel cell. The mitochondria already has a job as making the cell's and body's energy, transforming calories and sugar into ATP and other chemical energy that keeps the body going. Knowing that the mitochondria is a powerhouse using sugar and fat intake, this brings the idea of possibly refueling a laptop or a cellphone with fat from oil. Fuel cells in a way are more efficient than batteries, they do not need to recharge or run out as long as there's oxygen and fuel. In a successful lab, scientists have placed a thin layer of mitochondria between two electrodes, with one electrode being gas-permeable. The device produced electricity with sugar and cooking oil as fuel.

This article relates to science concepts by connecting the role of mitochondria in the body to uses of electronics. The mitochondria is a powerhouse for the body by using the body's energy intake and transforming it into chemical energy. As a biofuel cell, with its sugar and fats from cooking oil as its fuel along with oxygen (which is always available), it can go on making energy for the electronic device. Unlike a battery that needs to be disposed when empty, or needs to be recharged, the mitochondria biofuel cell will always go on making energy for eletronics.

This topic was written as an article as this could potentially be an alternative to batteries, which are sometimes thrown out inappropiately, causing leakage which can lead to contamination. Recharging batteries also take energy, so with the biofuel cell's way of making energy, this can be an improvement with saving energy. This can reduce pollution and your electricity bill. Also, it's just an interesting idea with the thought of just 'recharging' your cellphone or laptop and more applications with a sip of soda or your cooking oil into your biofuel cell.

http://www.physorg.com/news201949537.html