The new research is led by Dr Derek Lovley, head of a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, sponsored by the ONR. The work focuses on a bacteria called Geobacter, which produces microbial nanowires.

These protrude from the organism, letting it form electrical connections with iron oxides in the ground, helping it to grow. That electrical conductivity is useful for the bacteria, but in its natural state, is too weak for humans to make use of.

"As we learned more about how the microbial nanowires worked, we realized it might be possible to improve on nature's design," said Dr Lovley. "We rearranged the amino acids to produce a synthetic nanowire that we thought might be more conductive."