Hijacking Worm Guts to Produce Tiny Semiconductors

When it comes to producing nanoparticle-sized semiconductors called quantum dots, scientists are now looking to earthworms to do their dirty work. Like all semiconductors, the conductive properties of quantum dots are very specific to their crystals' size and shape. But quantum dots have an advantage because scientists can precisely control the size of the crystals formed, and the resulting conductive properties of the dots. Their applications include LED lights, solar cells, and tiny lasers. Since quantum dots absorb and emit light, they may also aid in medical imaging, but thus far scientists have struggled to incorporate these dots into living cells. Because they are potentially toxic, the dots must undergo a number of chemical reactions before they are able to enter or attach to living cells. Scientists now think the trick to making the dots compatible may lie in producing the dots within living organisms. In the past few years ...