In-situ studies have been instrumental to improve the understanding of catalysis on the synthesis of nanowires and nanotubes. Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) using specialized specimen holders have allowed the observation of the catalytic synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures, thus enabling in-situ experimentation. Here we show a simple route to grow amorphous B/BOx nanowires and BOx nanotubes using gold catalyst particles in a TEM without the need for a specialized holder. The nanowires exhibit growth rates over 7 m/min despite the fact that the synthesis is performed at room temperature. A highly efficient superficial diffusion of B species driven by electrostatic repulsion is hypothesized as the transport mechanism of feedstock material. Oxygen species generated alongside the feedstock material are shown to be fundamental in activating the catalytic properties of the gold nanoparticles. There are reasons to believe that this technique could be extended to synthesize nanowires of different compositions inside the TEM.