Batteries, as we know them, have always used a form of non-organic chemical energy, such as lead-acid and nickel-cadmium, in order to power our electronic devices. That is going to change once the scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T) unveil their new power source, a battery containing biological matter, a virus dubbed M13. The virus acts as a “biological scaffolding” in order to support a lithium-ion system within the battery.

M13 is a bacteriophage, a virus that normally only affects bacteria, and thus has no effect on human cells. Before the virus is integrated into the battery, it is modified through the alteration of two of its genes. One gene causes the outer layer of proteins to become embedded with bits of iron phosphate “like tiny fists all along the length of the virus,” says Angela Belcher, professor of materials science and biological engineering at M.I.T. The alteration of the second gene allows the tubelike body of the virus to bond with a network of carbon nanotubes that connects with millions of M13 molecules, thus allowing the conduction of electricity.