Now,generate power in your footsteps!

So far,the generators can only create enough power to run a small LCD panel about a quarter of the power of a AAA battery 8212; but work in the laboratory simply by tapping a finger on an electrode,the 8216;Daily Mail8217; reported.

In the future,the scientists could be used to power everything from portable electronics like phones powered by footsteps 8212; to lighting systems,powered by similar panels inside doors.

The viruses are harmless 8212; built to 8220;harness8221; physical stress in an object to generate electricity. The technology already works 8212; at least in the laboratory,say scientists at the US Department of Energy8217;s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

They tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses.

The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. This generator is the first to produce electricity by harnessing the piezoelectric properties of a biological material.

Piezoelectricity is the accumulation of a charge in a solid in response to mechanical stress. The milestone could lead to tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks such as shutting a door or climbing stairs,the 8216;Nature Nanotechnology8217; reported.

8220;More research is needed,but our work is a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators,and other devices based on viral electronics,8221; said Seung-Wuk Lee of the Berkeley Lab.

Lee and colleagues wondered if a virus studied in labs worldwide offered a better way. The M13 bacteriophage only attacks bacteria and is benign to people. Being a virus,it replicates itself by the millions within hours,so there8217;s always a steady supply.

The scientists further enhanced the system by stacking films composed of single layers of the virus on top of each other. They found that a stack about 20 layers thick exhibited the strongest piezoelectric effect.

The only thing remaining to do was a demonstration test,so the scientists fabricated a virus-based piezoelectric energy generator.

They created the conditions for genetically engineered viruses to spontaneously organise into a multilayered film that measures about one square centimetre. This film was then sandwiched between two gold-plated electrodes,which were connected by wires to a liquid-crystal display.

When pressure is applied to the generator,it produces up to six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential.

8220;We8217;re now working on ways to improve on this proof- of-principle demonstration. Because the tools of biotechnology enable large-scale production of genetically modified viruses,piezoelectric materials based on viruses could offer a simple route to novel microelectronics in the future,8221; Lee said.