EVER RUN OUT of battery power on your iPod halfway through a train journey, or on a long run? Well now there may be an answer, you just need to put your heart into it.

Scientists have developed a tiny chip which could eventually see a device like an Apple iPod charged by a person’s pulse. Tiny movements of the body, even the pinch of the finger, can generate power.

The nanogenerator is being heralded as a scientific milestone according to Dr. Zhong Lin Wang, who is part of the team who developed the chip:

Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is only limited by one’s imagination.

It’s also reported that the chips could have medicinal benefits, ultimately using a person’s heartbeat to keep an insulin pump going for instance.

But don’t get too excited, Ecofriend.com warns that there needs to be significant development of the technology before we can ditch our iPod chargers for once and for all.

Want to know much, much more? Here’s the science bit