See, the problem with bioengineering isn't moral or ethical dilemmas, or even homicidal robo-droids enslaving humanity. It's that if you let researchers go wild, eventually they'll find a way to make LEDs out of salmon sperm, threatening the sanctity (and sperm-free-ness) of your entire gadget-based lifestyle. Yet that's exactly what Professor Andrew Steckl of the University of Cincinnati has managed to do, using the DNA found in salmon sperm to enhance the brightness of LEDs. The so-called BioLEDs are being developed in cooperation with the Air Force (yes, the Air Force -- they had a "good source" of salmon sperm, apparently) and they've been so successful that Steckl has been getting salmon sperm from researchers worldwide "wanting to see if their sperm is good enough." Steckl says that since salmon sperm is considered a waste product of the fishing industry, BioLEDs are particularly green -- kind of like our faces right now.

Hate to be the one that has to tell you this, but swilling your drinks with those lame ass plastic straws is officially passe. From now on it's celery straws or nothing for us, thanks to Florida's Duda Farm Fresh Foods and their l33t bioengineering skilz. Those farming crazies have managed to design stalks of celery that grow in a tube form, allowing for edible straws in your Bloody Mary or a peanut butter surprise inside this tubular wonder. Is there no limit to human ingenuity?

[Via Boing Boing]