A newly found semiconductor property of a identified self-assembling bacterial shell protein might pave the way in which for secure, environmentally pleasant electronics — from cell phones and sensible watches to medical devices and environmental sensors.
Traditional semiconductor supplies, resembling silicon, are inflexible, require excessive-power processing and contribute to the rising downside of digital waste. Thus, there may be growing demand for sustainable, delicate and biocompatible electronics (wearables, implantables and inexperienced sensors).
A crew of scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, explored whether or not self-assembling bacterial shell proteins — which naturally type secure, giant, flat, 2D sheets with constructed-in electron density patterns and fragrant residues — could possibly be intrinsically photoactive.
Led by Dr Sharmistha Sinha, the researchers Silky Bedi and SM Rose discovered that when the proteins type flat, sheet-like movies they take up ultraviolet gentle and generate {an electrical} present with none added dyes, metals or exterior energy, and act as gentle-pushed, scaffold-free semiconductors, very similar to the supplies utilized in digital circuits and sensors.
The crew found that the proteins naturally prepare themselves into skinny, sheet-like constructions. When UV gentle shines on them, tiny electrical expenses start to maneuver throughout the protein floor. This occurs as a result of the proteins comprise tyrosine, a pure amino acid that may launch electrons when excited by gentle. “As these electrons and protons move, the protein sheet produces an electrical signal — similar to how a miniature solar cell would operate. This light-driven effect relies on the protein’s internal order and does not require any synthetic additives or high-temperature manufacturing,” says a press launch.
Bots mimic microorganisms
Researchers from IIT-Bombay and IIT-Mandi have demonstrated, utilizing a minimalist robotic mannequin, that the advanced swimming behaviour of single-celled organisms can emerge from easy bodily interactions. Their examine, printed in Physical Review Letters, exhibits that the attribute “run-and-tumble” movement seen in microorganisms such because the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii might be replicated at a macroscopic scale with out invoking organic or hydrodynamic complexity.
In nature, Chlamydomonas swims by way of the synchronised beating of two flagella, producing straight “runs”, punctuated by sudden “tumbles” when the flagella fall out of section and reorient the cell. The crew used two self-propelled robots, mechanically coupled by a inflexible rod, to imitate the distal fibre that connects the bases of the flagella. By various the attachment angle and offset of the connecting rod, the researchers captured the important mechanical components behind run-and-tumble dynamics.
To emulate the bodily world of microorganisms, the place friction dominates and inertia is negligible, the robots had been made to maneuver on a excessive-friction floor, reproducing over-damped lively Brownian movement. The coupled robots spontaneously exhibited lengthy, straight runs interrupted by sharp, usually 180-diploma tumbles.
Theoretical evaluation confirmed that the run state corresponds to secure configurations of the coupled system, whereas tumbles come up from spontaneous misalignment of the robots’ self-propulsion forces, producing torque by way of the connecting rod. Importantly, it exhibits hydrodynamic interactions aren’t important for run-and-tumble movement; mechanical coupling alone is enough. The examine has implications in designing easy, autonomous micro-scale machines.
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Published on January 26, 2026