Bioluminescence Efficiency: Cold Light Chemistry
Chapter 1

Nature's cool chemical lanterns

Chapter 2

Deep ocean neon parties

Chapter 3

Land-dwelling lanterns

Chapter 4

Glowing shores and neon waves

YOUR GOAL

Master of Living lights and glowing nights

Ch 1 · Nature's cool chemical lanterns
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007skaty Bioluminescence evolved separately in many different species.

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007skaty Bioluminescent Fireflies

Cold, cold light! Cold, cold light! Shining bright with zero heat!

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Faced with the same hardships, different lives find the same ways to survive.

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007skaty Living organisms use a chemical recipe to produce cold light.

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The independent spark of life

007skaty Convergent evolution led different groups to adapt unique light-making chemistry for survival in their specific, dark environments.

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The green glowing protein revolution

007skaty A glowing green jellyfish floats in a dramatically lit studio fashion scene.

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Glow Wild Friends
BETA

007skaty Match glowing creatures to discover how animals use bioluminescence to communicate and survive.

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Fun Fact

Cold light chemistry: Unlike incandescent light bulbs which waste 90% of their energy as heat, bioluminescent light is 100% efficient, losing almost no energy to warmth.

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Glossary
bioluminescence (noun)
The biochemical emission of light by living organisms. In 1885, Raphaël Dubois discovered the chemical reaction behind this phenomenon while studying bioluminescent click beetles.

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Gossip

Would you eat a safe, genetically engineered salad that glows in the dark?

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Quiz

What color of light is the most common among bioluminescent land organisms?

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007skaty Green Fluorescent Protein revolutionized how scientists study living cells.

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Quiz

Which of these is a primary way that researchers use Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) today?

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007skaty Hawaiian bobtail squid host glowing bacteria in a symbiotic partnership.

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Quiz

Why is bioluminescent light referred to as 'cold light' by scientists?

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Quiz

What does the Hawaiian bobtail squid provide to its glowing bacterial partners?

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Quiz

Which two main chemical components are required to produce bioluminescent light?

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Quiz

How many times do scientists estimate bioluminescence has independently evolved on Earth?

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Quiz

Who was the French physiologist who first coined the terms 'luciferin' and 'luciferase' in 1887?

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Quiz

From which marine creature did scientists first isolate Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)?

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