I came back to edit that post; but here're two stories I found since then:
Scientists have spiders producing enhanced web that can hold a human
This is pretty low tech. Spider drink water tainted with carbon nanotubes and then they can truss up a human. All they need is frickin' lasers on their heads.
Researchers find an enzyme that harvests light to make hydrocarbons
Quote:
How does the protein manage this trick, and why does it need light to do it? The blue light it uses turns out to be the wavelengths typically absorbed by a chemical called "flavin adenine dinucleotide" (FAD), which is commonly used as a co-factor in many biochemical reactions. And, when the researchers looked at the structure of the enzyme, they found that FAD is present and held in close proximity to the oxygens of the fat molecule.
The authors think that, in this enzyme, light causes FAD to steal an electron from the fat molecule, leaving it in an unstable state. The fat responds by kicking out a carbon and two oxygens, forming carbon dioxide, a process that's very energetically favorable. After that happens, the remaining hydrocarbon steals the electron back from the FAD, resetting the enzyme for use on another fat molecule.
So, because it uses light for energy, the system doesn't need to be supplied with a constant source of chemical energy.
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In this case — algae-wrangling for fun and profit. Also:
Motorised molecules drill into cancer cells
2-3 million RPM drill motors. Cancer better watch out!