What makes bioluminescent glow

A temporary exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in explored these links between art and science. Artist Shih Chieh Huang created hanging installations in the dark space of the museum that lit up and looked as if they were floating in the deep-sea. Some artists use the bacteria itself to create living drawings or entire exhibits with petri dishes full of the glowing single-celled organisms.

You can also make your own bioluminescent art! Bioluminescence can also be used as a tool by researchers to learn more about the ocean and its mysteries. Edie Widder, a scientist who specializes in bioluminescence, was with a group attempting to film the giant squid for the first time. She suspected that the giant squid would be lured to a bioluminescent light attached to a fake squid—not because it wanted to eat the small fake squid, but because its flashing light "burglar alarm" could mean that there was larger prey in the vicinity.

Her theory proved right. A live giant squid was captured for the first time on film in ! Skip to main content. Credit: E. Widder, ORCA, www. This lanternfish Diaphus sp. Time to glow! A biological clock triggers bioluminescence in the dinoflagellate Pyrocystis fusiformis. At dusk, cells produce the chemicals responsible for its light.

The mauve stinger is a glowing jellyfish. The yellow bioluminescent ring on this female octopus may attract mates. Syllid fireworms can be found mainly on the seafloor, but they switch to a planktonic form to reproduce, where the females use bioluminescent signals. This fish is using counterillumination to disappear.

At left it stands out against the light above it. The flash rate may change to indicate to a flying male that a female on the ground is interested in his advances. The length of time between the male flash and the female response is also used to identify females of the same species. In deep-sea fish, bioluminescence provides illumination for particular species that emit red bioluminescence, enabling them to see red pigmentation in their prey.

Bioluminescence may also be used to attract prey. The anglerfish dangles a glowing appendage in front of its large and toothy jaws as bait for smaller fish. Genetically modified organisms utilizing bioluminescence include transgenic mice, fish, and microbes such as bacteria and fungi. Genetic modification is surrounded by controversy, as our ability to create new genes, and new organisms, has outstripped our knowledge of their long-term effect on broader ecosystems. It is also a fascinating and exciting field, as fluorescent genes open up new perspectives on the inner workings of cells themselves.

Fluorescent genes, such as the gene GFP found in jellyfish, or luciferase from fireflies, can be directed to target a specific mammalian gene, revealing the exact locations of the particular protein associated with that gene within a cell.

This is an invaluable tool in medical research, pharmaceutical development and drug screening, gene therapy, and improving our understanding of biological processes. These GloFish are zebra fish genetically modified to fluoresce.

Check out these hot tips to capture the cool glow. Feeling inspired to capture the beauty of nature? Check out our blog about taking nature photos on your mobile phone , or learn from expert photographer Carl Charter in his tips for underwater photography. Log in to Disqus, Facebook, Twitter or Google to make a comment. Here are answers to 10 common questions about bioluminescence: What are some of the different animals that make light?

First, in a large part of the ocean the transmitted sunlight is dim or absent, so bioluminescence becomes an alternative way to communicate using light. Second, the volume of habitat where bioluminescence is effective is vast, allowing natural selection to take place in a huge ecological context. Are bioluminescent animals found only in the ocean?

With the exception of one animal related to a clam, there are no luminescent freshwater animals. Is the glowworm the same as a firefly? What is the function of bioluminescence? While there are different functions of light emission, and animals can use the light for more than one function, the uses of bioluminescence can be grouped there are several main types: Finding or attracting prey In the dark ocean, dim glowing can be used to attract prey.

Fish such as the anglerfish use a light organ filled with bacteria that dangles from their forehead. Prey are attracted to the light in the same way that a fisherman might use a glowing lure for night fishing. When the unlucky prey gets near the anglerfish it is engulfed whole. Some fish use bioluminescence as a flashlight, which is how flashlight fish got their name. They use light, produced by symbiotic bacteria living in an organ below their eyes, to light up potential prey.

Another example is the glow of fungi, which attracts insects not as prey but as a means of dispersing the fungal spores. Defense against predators. Bioluminescence can serve as a decoy. Some squid and shrimp produce a luminescent glowing cloud similar in function to the ink cloud of squid in daylight.

When attacked by a predator, scaleworms and brittlestars sacrifice a part of the body that continues to flash as the animal makes its escape. Other animals living in ocean depths where the sunlight is very dim use bioluminescence to camouflage themselves. Their bioluminescence matches the color and brightness of the dim sunlight, and is called luminescent countershading, because it fills in their shadow and makes it harder for them to be detected by predators.

Many small plankton use flashes of light to startle their predators in an attempt to interrupt their feeding. The best known example is the bioluminescence of fireflies, where there is an exchange of flashes between males and females. Females respond to the flashes of flying males, with the eventual result that the male approaches the female for the purpose of mating.

To avoid confusion between members of different types of fireflies, the signals of each species are coded in a unique temporal sequence of flashing.

Some marine animals such as polychates bristle worms use bioluminescence during mating swarms, where the males will attract females to them. In others such as ostracods firefleas , males flash in a sequence as they swim to attract females.