Angela Belcher was inspired by the sea snail known as the abalone, commonly found clinging to rocks on the coast of California.

The tough shell of the abalone is 98 percent calcium carbonate, also known as chalk -- yet it is 3,000 times stronger.

"The abalone makes this amazing material out of a common mineral," said Belcher, Germeshausen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering at MIT.

"Suddenly, I wondered, what if we could assemble materials like the abalone does -- but not be limited to one element?"

"What if we could bond protein to other elements in the periodic table and grow new materials?"

"It seemed so logical and easy."

"Shells had been self-assembling, manufacturing amazing materials for 500 million years."

Professor Belcher has developed a virus engineered to latch itself to cobalt oxide, thereby creating an efficient batttery.

Looking like a transparent film, it could one day be poured onto the object to be powered, just like a coat of paint.

Viral films could one day become integral to all kinds of electronic, optical, and magnetic devices.

Professor Belcher is pursuing the technique further, still using the abalone for inspiration.

"It builds exquisite materials," she said.

"It's a very nice animal."

"Abalone shells are self-assembling."

"What if we could make a material that is self-re-assembling?"

"What if iPods and Blackberrys could genetically mend their own cracks?"

"These devices get dropped, they break -- what material can we make so they fix themselves?"