Is this taking the piss?

I read all over the news media that scientists at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, part of the University of the West of England have developed a way to charge mobile phones by using human urine. Apparently this team has been working for on their version of the microbial fuel cell (MFC), an old concept that has never quite become commercially viable. MFCs use bacteria to break down organic material and so create power. The bacteria need the right food to generate a usable amount of electricity, and the Bristol Robotics team think that human urine is a possibility, either that or that it would raise some publicity (I know, I'm so cynical).

I think I'll stick to a mains charger for when I'm at home or in a hotel and a solar panel for when I'm away from civilisation.