Mini ‘solar panels’ help yeast shine at churning out drug ingredients

Covering microbes with light-harvesting semiconductors boosted shikimic acid production

yeast cell

SEMICONDUCTOR GETUP  A yeast cell (magenta) coated in semiconductor nanoparticles (purple), shown in this false-color scanning electron microscopy image, creates useful chemicals better than an uncoated cell does.

Wyss Inst./Harvard Univ.

Bionic microbes outfitted with tiny semiconductor components can generate useful chemicals more efficiently than normal cells.