The technology, Strano said, could one day be used to light the rooms or even to turn trees into self-powered street lamps. In the future, the team hopes to develop a version of the technology that can be sprayed onto plant leaves in a one-off treatment that would last the plant's lifetime.

US researchers say they have demonstrated how cells fuelled by bacteria can be "self-powered" and produce a limitless supply of hydrogen.

Not because I've staved off anything grim, but because I've found a new way to think about my life - as a self-powered trip across the country.