500 years ago. In the 1600s, researchers began to discover exactly how animals make their own light. But since different animals use different substances, scientists still don't know precisely how every bioluminescent species makes light. In some cases, researchers haven't figured...
Why Animals Make Light A 15,000-square-kilometer milky sea off the coast of Africa, discovered in 2005, was visible from space. Scientists don't know why all bioluminescent forms of life glow. For example, several earthworm species create a luminescent secretion that doesn't have an obvious...
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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...
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 ...
Some animals are prone to breed more, others to breed less. Bioluminescent species are suddenly faced with tireless competitors: artificial lights. The larger impacts of ecological disruptions such as these aren't always clear to researchers, but considering how delicate the planet's ecosystem is, ...
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. ...
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...
Rare footage shows a newly described Mexican firefly species flicker in unison. How do the insects coordinate their bioluminescent displays?