Hack a virus, win a prize: Scientist recognized for 'useful' germ modding[ Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:03:48 GMT ]The inventor of a viral technology behind tomorrow's electric car batteries, flexible touchscreen computers, and non-invasive cancer screening was awarded a $500,000 prize Tuesday.Angela Belcher, a materials chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, alters the genetic code of viruses to build things that are useful to humans. The technique is already being harnessed to produce touchscr...