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in a special form called superoxide anion. Thisbioluminescent "cold" lightproduction process is highly efficient as heat is not a byproduct. In some species, it's not only the adult male and female lightning bugs that glow - the eggs will also flash when tapped...
Firefliescreate light in a similar way to how a glowstick works. The light results from a chemical reaction, or chemiluminescence. When a light-producing chemical reaction occurs within a living organism, scientists call this property bioluminescence. Mostbioluminescent organismslive in marine environments...
How do ostracods glow? Without getting too scientific there are two chemicals inside the body of those animals that produce the glow:Luciferin and luciferace. Luciferin reacts with oxygen to produce the light while luciferase (enzyme) speeds-up the process as a catalyzer. ...
Attemptsbiochemicalbasis“livinglight”beganpioneeringchemistRobertBoyle17thcentury,whodiscoveredbioluminescentfungusstoppedglowingwhenremovedfromjarcontainingrecentyearsresearchershavedeterminedprecisemechanismbiologicallighthasallowedbioluminescencedazzlingarraynewuses,fromilluminatingotherbiologicalprocessesdisease,detectingsubmarines...
Rare footage shows a newly described Mexican firefly species flicker in unison. How do the insects coordinate their bioluminescent displays?
He is the light in the shadows, illuminated from within by bioluminescent algae. A death's head adorns his face like a wound revealing the skull beneath the scales. He is one with the dark, flitting through the crack between worlds. The insidious fluttering of his wings writhes its way ...
Short clip of the bioluminescent dinoflagellate Pyrocystis lunula. Credit: Maziyar Jalaal/University of Cambridge Bioluminescence has been of interest to humankind for thousands of years, as it is visible as the glow of night-time breaking waves in the ocean or the spark of fireflies in the fore...
Bobtail squid have evolved one of the most magical symbioses on the planet. Bioluminescent bacteria live within the folds of a chambered sac in the squid’s mantle, generating light that spills from the squid’s underside. A lens and color filter attached to this internal lantern—known as the...