Much work is left to get the proteins producing the kind of silicon or titanium dioxides that could run a computer or power your house, but the dream is to have synthetic creations that organically produce what would normally need a mining expedition -- imagine something akin to the glass-like Venus' Flower Basket sponge (pictured above) sitting in an Intel factory.
Comprising of seven tiny layers, each 50 to 100 nanometers in height, the coating is made of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods positioned at an oblique angle.