THE DIRTY FACTS
    
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 500 million people lack power in their homes, yet 22 percent of households have call phones. Keeping them charged, however, can be a challenge. (SOURCE: www.seas.harvard.edu)

WHO CARES? Avivia Presser Aiden, developer of the dirt powered batteries cares, and she is not alone. Cell phones are becoming a crucial part of healthcare in the developing world. The phones provide easy to access health information and contact with physicians from remote locations. Aviva won a $100,000 grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April, 2011. The challenge was to "create low cost cell phone-based applications for priority global health conditions." (SOURCE: www.seas.harvard.edu)

WHAT FOUNDATION? Since 1994, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided $25,364,000,000 in grants. The foundation, which is based in Seattle, Washington, works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to rise out of hunger and poverty. In the United States, it works to ensure that all people have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. (SOURCE: www.gatesfoundation.org)

MFCs:  The concept of using microorganisms has been around since the 1970s. There are five main advantages of using Microbial Fuel Cells or MFCs over current technologies used to generate power from organic matter:

1. MFCs directly convert substrate energy to electricity, which is highly efficient.
2. MFCs operate efficiently even at low temperatures.
3. An MFC does not require gas treatment because the off-gases are enriched in carbon dioxide and have no useful energy content.
4. They do not require energy input for aeration.
5. MFCs have the potential for widespread application in areas lacking electrical infrastructures. (SOURCE: web.mit.edu)