Is Viral Power the Solution to the Energy Crisis?

Viruses suck.  They’ve killed millions of people.  They make us sick.  We have to get shots of their dead bodies to build up our immune systems.  They are just nasty little life forms that endlessly replicate and harm.  Despite all this, researchers at MIT think they’ve found a redeeming purpose for viruses.  That purpose is battery power.  Read here.

viralpower

In short, scientists genetically engineered viruses to mimic the properties of the positively and negatively charged ends of a battery through which power flows.  These new virus built batteries allegedly have the same power capacity and performance of as cutting edge batteries developed to power things like electric cars.

But many are skeptical of depending on viruses for one of our most valuable commodities, energy.  Anti-Viral Anything (AVA) president Vlad Soresh had the following to say: “Given the history of our relationship with viruses, can we really depend on them for our energy?  I think they’ve proven time and time again that they want to cause nothing but harm to mankind.”

Despite criticisms like those, the genetically engineered technology is a major breakthrough in battery research.

What do you think?  Can we trust viruses to supply us with energy?