The phrase “my computer has got virus!” may just take on a new meaning in the future. Researchers have invented a way to coat 30-nanometre-long chunks of tobacco mosaic virus with platinum nano-particles, creating a transistor with very fast switching speed. And by combining millions of these transistors, super-fast memory chips could be created to replace our existing memories.

The team built a transistor by embedding the coated virus strips in a polymer matrix, sandwiched between two electrodes much like a standard transistor. Apply a voltage to the transistor, and the platinum nano-particles – roughly 16 per virus – each donate an electron to proteins on the surface of the virus, moving the device to an ON state.

When the voltage dips below a certain threshold, the electrons jump back to the nano-particle, switching the transistor to an OFF state.

The increase in speed could be as much as 1,000 times. Virus or not, I don’t care. Just give me speed, speed and more speed!