A network of artificial cells that work together to act as a rectifier (AC to DC converter) has been built by researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Like real cells, the protocells are droplets of watery fluid enclosed in an oily membrane, but they can fuse together, forming unidirectional electronic circuits.

The droplet networks could be used as an interface between electronic implants and living tissue, as tissue scaffolds to guide the regrowth of complex organs, or to provide low-power energy sources.