Electrons.
They power many chemical reactions
that are essential for life.
Making food...
combustion...
photosynthesis.
But getting electrons to go where you need them
is a tricky problem that scientists and engineers want to crack.
One option is: using hemes.
They're structures that are great at transferring electrons.
Hemes are found in all sorts of living beings,
from bacteria to our own red blood cells.
But the job is tricky.
So, these hemes must be close together and positioned just right
so that the hops work.
Otherwise, the electron is lost
or stolen by other molecules.
Scientists are looking to nature for inspiration
to nail down hemes, precisely,
and tame the electrons.
A new approach is to borrow a protein molecule from bacteria
called BMC-H and glue many hemes onto it.
BMC-H links well with other proteins of its kind
to form huge structures, like this tunnel.
This potentially creates highways for electrons,
made of proteins, fueled by hemes.
We could build these inside of living cells,
so electrons go to our chosen targets,
without getting lost.
Someday, we could tune this pipeline
to control which chemical reactions take place.
We could use it for new applications,
like making medicine, or clean, solar-driven fuels.
