Energy News: DNA from salmon -- specifically, from the fish's sperm -- makes an excellent choice for building extra-bright, biodegradeable light-emitting diodes, researchers at the University of California / Riverside found. It sounds fishy but it's true. “DNA has certain optical properties that make it unique,” [Prof. Andrew] Steckl says. “It allows improvements in one to two orders of magnitude in terms of efficiency, light, brightness — because we can trap electrons longer. ... The more electrons we can keep around, the more photons we can generate,” which means brighter light.