Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston have successfully developed and created a prototype for a new energy source called Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC). In essence, these are batteries running on microbes in solid waste.

The idea for the MFC was born from the desire to provide basic electric comforts to people living beyond the reach of power lines in rural areas. Farming communities in developing countries could be the primary beneficiaries of bacteria-powered mobile communications.

Using electricity produced by bacteria feeding on compounds in the solid waste of grass-eating animals, enough power could be generated to be used in mobile phones. This could provide a vital channel between urban facilities and industries to raw material producers in countrysides. Asian and African nations have been considered as the first testers of the technology.

An extension of the idea is the vision of waste treatment facilities running on their own power. This could open the door for self-sustaining plants which don't use up fuel and help rid the environment of agricultural excrement.

One of the possible weaknesses of the project could be costs. Analysts have suggested that the creation of a single cell could take significantly more resources than it would to create a traditional dry cell.

"We're using a non-platinum catalyst, so that allows us to lower the cost," counters MFC team member Gerardo la O' as he justifies that their technology is applicable to real-life implementation and could benefit countless communities globally.

The explanation apparently convinced the judges at the MADMEC contest where the MFC team signed up and entered their MFC prototype called BioVolt. "As a proof of concept, BioVolt is pretty extraordinary," says organizer Michael Tarkanian. "They used a lot of materials science to drive the price down."