Latest Bioluminescence Stories
Study shows molecular imaging technique can track stem cell therapy for hair regeneration Finding a way to restore hair growth after substantial hair loss is something of an obsession worldwide. Investigators at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 2012 Annual Meeting presented how stem cell research for the development of new hair follicles can be monitored with an optical imaging technique that uses bioluminescence, the same process that allows fireflies to light up. There is a host of...
Researchers from Swedish and American universities say that they have solved the mystery as to why giant and colossal squid have such enormous eyes, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the oversized ocular orbits are essentially a defense mechanism. According to Rob Waugh of the Daily Mail, the giant squid can be upwards of 27-feet long and can weigh half a ton, or "as much as five adult men." Even so, their eyes, which are roughly the size of a basketball, are still "far, far too big for their...
Tumor-targeted bioluminescent bacteria have been shown for the first time to provide accurate 3D images of tumors in mice, further advancing the potential for targeted cancer drug delivery, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. The specially engineered probiotic bacteria, like those found in many yoghurts, were intravenously injected into mice with tumors, after which the researchers took full body bioluminescent images. The 3D images revealed...
The BioSciences Website EurekaMag.com publishes articles in all areas of biological science. The latest articles cover Fireflies which are winged beetles chemically producing light from their lower abdomen, Synapse which is a structure in the nervous system that permits neurons to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell. The article on Lotus covers the aquatic perennial plant commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia for its edible seeds and rhizomes. Mannheim, Germany (PRWEB)...
Potential mechanism for dazzling blue flashes of light in oceans identified It has long been known that distinctive blue flashes--a type of bioluminescence--that are visible at night in some marine environments are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminesence. The study, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, is reported by Susan Smith of Emory...
The world's only bioluminescent millipedes use their glow as a warning signal to nocturnal predators, a University of Arizona-led research team has discovered [ Watch the Video ] As night falls in certain mountain regions in California, a strange breed of creepy crawlies emerges from the soil: Millipedes that glow in the dark. The reason behind the glowing secret has stumped biologists until now. Paul Marek, a research associate in the UA's Department of Entomology and Center...
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EOS Climate, the market leader in delivering verified emission reductions from destruction of ozone depleting substances (ODS), named Matt Jones as its new CEO effective Monday, August 1st. Matt brings 25 years of multi-disciplined management experience to EOS Climate from the communications, security, networking, and IT storage industries. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of CloudShield Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of...
San Francisco State University researcher finds bioluminescent fungus not seen since 1840In 1840, renowned English botanist George Gardner reported a strange sight from the streets of Vila de Natividade in Brazil: A group of boys playing with a glowing object that turned out to be a luminescent mushroom. They called it "flor-de-coco," and showed Gardner where it grew on decaying fronds at the base of a dwarf palm. Gardner sent the mushroom to the Kew Herbarium in England where it...
Lynn Yarris, Berkeley LabA unique new probe based on luciferase, the enzyme that gives fireflies their glow, enables researchers to monitor hydrogen peroxide levels in mice and thereby track the progression of infectious diseases or cancerous tumors without harming the animals or even having to shave their fur. Developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, this new bioluminescent probe has already...
The enzyme that makes fireflies glow is lighting up the scientific path toward a long-sought new medical imaging agent to better monitor treatment with heparin, the blood thinner that millions of people take to prevent or treat blood clots, scientists are reporting. Their study appears in the ACS' monthly journal Bioconjugate Chemistry.Bruce Branchini and colleagues describe a need for new medical imaging agents that emit near-infrared light "” the light rays that "night vision"...
Latest Bioluminescence Reference Libraries
Bathocyroe fosteri is a species of lobate ctenophore found in all oceans around the world. It is typically found at intermediate depths and is very abundant near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This deep-sea comb jelly is named for Alvin (DSV-2) pilot Dudley Foster, who is credited with first collecting the specimens. This specimen measures about two inches tall and is bioluminescent. This species, as well as other ctenophores, reproduce sexually, with little to know self-fertilization known....
The Angler, (Lophius piscatorius), also known as the Fishing-frog, Frog-fish, or Sea-devil, is a species of monkfish in the family Lophiidae. It is found in coastal waters of the northeast Atlantic, from the Barents Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This species comprises a significant commercial fishery in parts of its range. The Angler has a very large, broad head that is flat and depressed. The rest of the body appears to be a mere appendage. The wide...
Double anglers are a family, Diceratiidae, of anglerfish. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are easily distinguished from other anglerfish by their possession of a second light-bearing dorsal fin spine immediately behind the illicium (the bioluminescent lure present in other anglerfish). As in other anglerfish, males are very much smaller than the females and, after a larval and adolescent free-living stage, spend the rest...
The Cookiecutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis, also known as the cigar shark or luminous shark, is a small rarely-seen dogfish shark. Anatomy and morphology The Cookiecutter sharks often glow green and grow up to 20 in (50 cm) long. The underside of the shark is bioluminescent, glowing a pale blue-green that matches the background light from the ocean's surface that serves as camouflage to creatures beneath it. However, a small non-luminescent patch appears black deceiving the shark's...
The Pink frogmouth, Chaunax pictus, is a sea toad of the family Chaunacidae, found circumglobally on continental shelves and slopes in tropical to temperate waters (except the Caribbean Sea), at depths of between 656.17 and 2165.35 ft (200 and 660 m). Its length is up to 15.75 in (40 cm). The pink frogmouth is moderately elongated compared to most other frogfishes, with a rough scaleless skin with many small filaments attached. Large limb-like pectoral fins are set behind the very small...
