DNA origami: MIT scientists conceive of folded DNA quantum rods for 3D screens

??You're reading The Vital Component, a breakdown of the week's engineering news delivered to your inbox. I’m Tim, an editor at IE. Let's dive in.

This weekend, learn how MIT scientists are using?DNA origami and quantum rods?to conceive of new ways to develop the next generation of 3D displays. Plus, there’s?bad news?for all those who are hopeful about LK-99’s superconductivity, but better news from scientists at Fermi who are looking for?physics beyond the Standard Model.?

Learn more about each story, and discover this week’s other science and engineering highlights, below.

Also, trusting a security placebo never makes sense. Don't let your organization fall victim to a discredited security approach that provides little or no protection. Here’s a?quick rundown of a half-dozen security practices?that remain widely used, despite being generally worthless or obsolete.

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MIT engineers have developed a technique to align quantum rods on TV screens for 3D VR images using scaffolds made from folded DNA, termed?DNA origami. This method ensures uniform direction of the rods on a 2D surface, optimizing light interaction.?

The process, which involves?attaching DNA to quantum rods, significantly reduces manufacturing time. The team aims to expand this technology beyond just AR/VR, emphasizing the sustainability of DNA as a manufacturing material and the need for environmentally friendly quantum rods.

Hopes for a new industrial revolution led by room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductivity will have to be postponed, for now. A major research center has cast doubt on the purported properties of newly synthesized material LK-99,?dismissing claims that it is a room-temperature superconductor.

An international team of scientists working on the Muon g-2 experiment at the?U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory?may be on the brink of discovering a new force of nature that could revolutionize our understanding of the universe. The results showed that the?muons wobbled faster?than the standard model, the best theory to describe the sub-atomic world, said they should.?

WEEK'S MOST IMPORTANT NEWS?

INNOVATION

• NASA hints it may delay Artemis III lunar landing mission?NASA associate administrator Jim Free recently stated he remains “concerned” over the development of SpaceX's modified Starship lunar lander.
• Driverless cars can now operate 24/7 in San Francisco?Permission was given by California Public Utilities Commission after a 3-1 vote.
• Tiny sensors 'HailSondes' can be unleashed into a hailstorm?Scientists unleash hail sensors, known as hailsondes, into an Alberta hailstorm for the first-time ever.

SCIENCE

• ‘Rods from God’ not that destructive, Chinese study finds?A new research paper indicates that the “Cold War” superweapon “Rods from God” would not have been as effective as many believe.
• Astrophysicist compiles 17-year timelapse of an alien world?The exoplanet Beta Pictoris b takes so long to orbit its host star that the 17-year timelapse only shows 75 percent of its full orbit.
• Powerful solar flares knock out radio signals across the US?The Sun unleashes two massive X-class solar flares, disrupting radio signals across the US and other regions.

TRANSPORTATION

• First adopter of hydrogen trains switches to electric models?LVNG, a German state-owned railway company and the first firm to adopt commercial hydrogen trains, is letting go of the powerful vehicles and replacing them instead with electric versions.
• China's top SUV maker to add ChatGPT-like bot into cars?The language model will enhance the in-car experience by making cars more intelligent and user-friendly.
• Hydrogen-powered flights aim to go commercial by 2025?Hydrogen-powered aircraft inch closer to commercial reality, promising decarbonization efforts for the aviation sector by 2025.

JOB ALERT

The latest jobs as featured on:?jobs.interestingengineering.com

“DNA is particularly attractive as a manufacturing material because it can be biologically produced, which is both scalable and sustainable, in line with the emerging U.S. bioeconomy. Translating this work towards commercial devices by solving several remaining bottlenecks, including switching to environmentally safe quantum rods, is what we’re focused on next.”

Mark Bathe, MIT professor of biological engineering

INTERESTING ENGINEERING PREMIUM?

• ?? Why do matter and the universe exist at all??Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eric A. Cornell explains how a record-breaking physics study could help explain the mystery of asymmetry.
• ?? Using quantum computing to speed up optimization problems?Quantum computing can accelerate solutions for complex optimization problems that classical computers can't solve.
• ???Bridging the gap between doctors and medical technology?Amid concerns over whether AI could replace doctors, we take a look at EZResus, an app developed by an ER doctor to aid in emergency situations.
• ???You can hear silence, claim researchers, settling an old debate?Silence can actually be heard, finds a new study that utilized auditory illusions to show how periods of silence can distort one’s perception of time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Astrophysicist compiles 17-year timelapse of an alien world?The exoplanet Beta Pictoris b takes so long to orbit its host star that the 17-year timelapse only shows 75 percent of its full orbit.
• Archaeologists unearth remains of a 1,600-year-old village?Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Mexico City's Tlatelolco area, unearthing the remains of a Teotihuacan village.
• Google and Universal Music partner up to develop AI music tool?Google and Universal Music are in discussions to develop a tool allowing fans to create AI-generated songs using the voices of some of their favorite artists.
• Pregnant woman wrongly arrested over face recognition error?Porcha Woodruff is the third person incorrectly arrested by Detroit police due to the AI software in as many years.