Bacteria churn out new type of electronic paper

From Anaheim, Calif., at a meeting of the American Chemical Society

For the past several years, researchers and electronics firms have pursued the goal of making a flexible computer display that looks and feels like paper.

Current strategies for making e-paper, as it’s called, typically rely on newly designed synthetic conducting materials. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are taking a more natural route: They’re employing cellulose, the main ingredient in paper.