The researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) succeeded to produce electricity by attaching a single zinc oxide nanowire on a rat’s diaphram and then heart. Placed in capsule to shield from the body fluids, the nanowire generated electricity by stretching caused by every single breath of the animal while on the diaphragm and by heart beat while on the heart. The generated electricity on the diaphragm measured about 4 pico-amps ( a million millionth of an amp) of current at 2 millivolts and about 30 pico-amps at about 3 millivolts while attached to the heart.

Although the amount of electricity is too trivial, it is considered to have potential to power nano-sized devices.