Scientists from Monash University in Australia have discovered ‘Huc’ – an enzyme that can convert hydrogen in the air into electricity.

They extracted the enzyme from a common, soil-dwelling bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Huc allows the bacteria to convert hydrogen in the atmosphere into usable energy so it can continue to thrive deep underground.

Researchers say that, if enough of the enzyme can be harvested, it could allow us to replace solar-powered devices with ‘air-powered’ versions.

[I’ve seen this movie before, and it doesn’t end well. More seriously, though, one has to wonder whether the juice is worth the squeeze. How much energy would it take to put into a bacterial-based energy source, and would it exceed its output overall? — Ed]