Somebacteria(细菌)have a superpower that scientists would love to use. These bacte-组卷网

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Some bacteria(细菌)have a superpower that scientists would love to use. These bacteria gain energy from light, just as plants do.Scientists have wanted to use cyanobacteria(蓝藻菌)to make electricity. But in previous research, they didn’t survive long on artificial surfaces. Researchers have now moved them to a living surface — a mushroom. Their creation is the first mushroom to make electricity.

Applied Physicist Simon Jackson and his team turned that mushroom into a mini energy farm. This bionic(生物电子的)mushroom combines 3D printing, conductive ink and bacteria to generate electricity. Its design could lead to new ways of combining nature with electronics.

Like plants, cyanobacteria make their own food from sunlight, releasing electrons(电子). When enough electrons build up in one place, they can create an electric current.

The researchers needed to bring a lot of these bacteria together. They decided to use 3D printing to place them precisely onto a surface.Jackson’s team chose mushrooms for that surface. After all, they realized, mushrooms naturally host communities of bacteria and other microbes. Finding test subjects for their tests was easy. Jackson simply went to the grocery store and picked up white button mushrooms.

Printing on those mushrooms, though, turned out to be a real challenge. 3D printers have been designed to print on flat surfaces, but mushroom caps are curved. The researchers spent months writing computer code to solve the problem. Eventually, they came up with a program to 3D print their ink onto the curved mushroom tops.

The researchers printed two“inks”onto their mushrooms. One was a green ink made of cyanobacteria. They used this to make a spiral pattern on the cap. They also used a black ink made of graphene, which is great at conducting electricity. They printed this ink in a branching pattern across the mushroom top.

Then it was time to shine.

“Cyanobacteria are the real heroes here,”says Jackson. When his team shone light on the mushrooms, the bacteria gave out electrons. Those electrons flowed into the graphene and created an electric current.

【小题1】What was the problem in previous research?

A．Cyanobacteria didn’t produce electrons.

B．Cyanobacteria couldn’t get enough light.

C．The researchers chose the wrong bacteria.

D．No suitable home was made for cyanobacteria.

【小题2】Why were mushrooms finally chosen as test subjects?

A．They are convenient to find.

B．They can produce electric currents.

C．They are where bacteria can naturally grow.

D．They can be easily combined with 3D printing.

【小题3】What is the major function of the black ink in this test?

A．To feed bacteria.