(1) Add weight to the nose
(2) Gears inside gears
(3) Heat it up then cool it fast

Congratulations to Don, Randall, John, and Michael!

This week’s winners get a game which really brings back the old times. But before we get started…

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Reply with the answer to this week’s Engineering "This or That" edition:

Pick the RIGHT answer for each scenario:

Question 1: To maximize heat dissipation in a CPU heatsink, engineers design fins that are: Thin and closely spaced OR Thick and widely spaced?

Question 2: In hydraulic systems, to lift heavier loads with the same input force, the output piston should be: Larger in diameter than input OR Smaller in diameter than input?

Question 3: When designing suspension bridges for longer spans, engineers use cables that are: Under high tension OR Under low tension?

Know the answers?
Just reply with your picks and you might win that mystery prize.

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Proteins usually break down food or build tissue.
These ones store electrical energy and honestly it's made me think our phones might be in for some fun 😂.

Researchers engineered artificial proteins that capture and release electrons on demand - basically turning them into biological batteries.

Your body runs on proteins doing chemistry, but these proteins do ELECTRICITY.

Here's how it works: they designed protein structures with metal-binding sites that grab onto electrons.

Apply voltage, proteins store electrons.
Reverse it, they release them back.

Reversible, rechargeable, molecular-level energy storage.

Natural proteins aren't built for this.

They had to engineer completely new protein architectures that could hold charged states without falling apart.

The proteins self-assemble into ordered structures that actually conduct electrons efficiently.

Why this matters: biological systems and electronics don't play nice together.

But energy-storing proteins open up biohybrid devices, implantable sensors that power themselves, maybe even living batteries that grow and repair themselves.

They're not powering your phone yet 😞, but charge-discharge cycles work and stay stable.

Your future pacemaker might run on these 👀

Read more here

Cargo ships burn the nastiest fuel on Earth.
FINALLY there’s one going nuclear…

A company is developing the first thorium-powered nuclear cargo ship using molten salt reactor technology.

Thorium sits in liquid fluoride salt that acts as both coolant and fuel carrier.

Heat from the reaction makes steam, steam spins turbines, ship moves.

Why thorium though?

It's way more abundant than uranium, produces less long-lived radioactive waste, and the molten salt design is PASSIVELY SAFE.

Something goes wrong?

Salt drains into a tank and the reaction just stops. No meltdown scenarios.

Traditional cargo ships burn bunker fuel: literally refined tar that would fail emissions if you put it in a car.

Shipping produces 3% of global CO2 emissions.
Nuclear cargo ships produce zero and can run for YEARS without refueling.

The problems: regulations, port acceptance, public fear of anything nuclear, and building a marine reactor that survives saltwater and massive waves.

But if it works?

One fuel load powers transoceanic voyages for years instead of days.

Nuclear-powered Amazon deliveries coming soon 🤯

Read more here

Brain implants usually need surgery to cut your skull open. These ones get injected through a needle. YUP.

MIT researchers developed mesh-like brain implants that roll up small enough to fit through a syringe, then unfold once inside your brain.

You literally inject them like a shot, except into cerebrospinal fluid, and they deploy themselves.

Here's how it works: the implants are ultra-flexible mesh polymers with embedded electrodes.

They're so thin they roll up tight, get pushed through a needle, then expand back into shape once released.

The mesh integrates with brain tissue without causing the inflammation that kills most rigid implants.

Why this matters: traditional brain implants require drilling holes in your skull and implanting rigid devices your brain treats as foreign objects.

Scar tissue forms, signals degrade, implants fail within months.

These mesh implants are flexible enough that brain tissue grows THROUGH them.

They become part of your brain instead of sitting on top.

Signals stay strong, inflammation stays minimal.

They've tested it in mice. Neurons grew around the mesh and stayed healthy long-term.

Your future brain upgrade might arrive via syringe (Elon must be excited…)

Read more here

And I think Golfers would be the first to buy these..

The Harvard team created a textile composite using two layers: a stiffer black woven material (like backpack straps) bonded to a softer, stretchy knit layer.

Using a laser cutter and heat press, they cut lattice patterns: squares, hexagons, different geometric shapes, into the woven fabric and sealed it with the knit layer.

Here's where it gets cool: when you stretch this fabric onto your body, instead of smoothing out like normal fabric, it FORMS DIMPLES on the surface (just like Golf Balls).

The lattice pattern makes the textile expand around your arm rather than clamp down. The dimples pop up automatically based on how much you stretch it.

THE WIND TUNNEL RESULTS THAT BROKE EXPECTATIONS

They ran 3,000 simulations testing different dimple patterns and sizes.

Then they threw the actual fabric into wind tunnels to see what works in real life.

Certain dimple patterns reduced drag by up to 20% at specific wind speeds.

TWENTY PERCENT!!!

"We were able to tune how big the dimple is, as well as its form," said grad student David Farrel. "Certain patterns and dimples are optimized for specific wind-speed regions."

Translation: you could theoretically have fabric that adjusts its aerodynamics based on how fast you're going.

WHY THIS IS BIGGER THAN SPORTS

Sure, cyclists and speed skaters are going to love this.

But the researchers are thinking way bigger: aerospace applications, maritime engineering, even civil engineering structures that need variable aerodynamic profiles.

Imagine building facades that automatically adjust their surface texture based on wind conditions.

Or aircraft surfaces that morph to optimize drag at different flight phases.

We just made fabric smart enough to understand physics. What a week to be alive!

Mechanical Engineer - Wilmington Machinery, Wilmington, NC
Building gentle giants that squeeze molten plastic without hydraulic tantrums.

Senior Electrical Engineer - Inspired Flight, San Luis Obispo, CA
Wiring drone brains so they don't randomly decide to visit Mexico.

Senior Water Resources Engineer - LJB Inc., Lima, OH
Water choreographer preventing floods and fixing dams so nature behaves.

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