MIT scientists have designed a quick method to build a microbattery using a genetically engineered virus called M13, the first time a battery device has been stamped.

Each virus is a semi-rigid fiber a few nanometers in diameter and about a micron long, which tends to pack tightly into a whorl that looks similar to a fingerprint.

The device could be used to power microdevices for controlled drug delivery, or to power tiny lab-on-a-chip applications.