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Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University presented their work on batteries powered by non-toxic melanin pigments at the American Chemical Society annual meeting. These batteries do not contain the typical toxic metals found in regular batteries, so they would be safer to use in medical devices that are meant to enter the body.
Besides their role in skin pigment, one of the things melanins are good at is attaching to metals, which is known as metal chelation.
'We thought, if they have this kind of electron exchange capability and this kind of cation chelation capability, then that really is what a battery material is in its essence,' Bettinger said at a press conference. 'We have really leveraged those existing properties in a different context and made this new invention.'
They found that their batteries can deliver 5 to 10 mW of power over a span of about 18 hours, which is optimal for powering ingestible medical devices that take about 20 hours to pass through the body.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday August 31 2016, @02:25PM
Your examples are interesting. But there are far more important applications of this technology.
This technology will be the savior of the RIAA. Implants, mandated at birth, will be able to constantly listen to detect if you are able to hear any copyrighted music, and then charge your credit card automatically. Even if you hear the music in your sleep. Or if you hum or sing any copyrighted music without proper licensing.
Unfortunately, we will have to await the day when further technology advancement makes it possible to detect when you dream or hallucinate copyrighted music. Until then, this will remain an imperfect solution. But one that is necessary. The RIAA strongly believes that those who create and perform music should be paid something. And RIAA spokesdroids are able to say this convincingly as though it were actually true.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 31 2016, @02:34PM
There, FTFY. They don't care about the artists. They care about the labels.