Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is simply light created by living organisms. Probably the most commonly known example of bioluminescence by North Americans is the firefly. But over 10,000 creatures in the ocean, that's 85% of creatures 1,000 feet and below, are bioluminescent. This paper is to try to explain how and why evolution would develop bioluminescence. And how the organism weather it be plant or animal, benefits from this unique trait. There are at least six different categories of bioluminescent functions: Navigation, Defense, Communication, Camouflage, Reproduction, and to use as a trap.
One of the features of biological light (bioluminescence) that makes it unique from other forms of light is that it is cold light. Unlike the light of a candle, or a light bulb, bioluminescent light is produced with very little to no heat radiation. The light is the result of a biochemical reaction in which the oxidation of a compound called "Luciferin" and the enzyme called "Luciferase". The reaction involves a substrate (D-Luciferin), combining with ATP, and oxygen which is controlled by the enzyme(Luciferase). Luciferins and Luciferase are different chemically in different
organisms but they all require molecular energy (ATP) for the reaction. Then the energy excites the molecule created by combining luciferace and luciferin The result of this excitement is decay which is turned into a form of photon emission. The light, a byproduct of the chemical reaction is therefore cold light.
The reaction can then be slightly altered by the light being absorbed into a florescent pigment inside the photophore (light producing organ) to change the color of the light. Most of the creatures use a blue, green, or bluish green light be...
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...nkeys and rabbits that are bioluminescent. Scientists are also developing ways to use it to locate diseases like cancer and tuberculosis by making the diseased tissue glow.
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Because of its size and abundance, T. californicus is commonly regarded as the insect of the sea. This creature is generally very small, from 1-3 mm in size as adults. They are cylindrically shaped, and have a segmented body (head, thorax, abdomen) though no noticeable division between body regions (Powlik 1966). Each segment of the body has a pair of legs. They use their 'legs' to propel themselves through the water in short rapid jerks. They have 2 pairs of long feathered antennae, a chitin us exoskeleton and a single eye in the middle of their head, this simple eye can only differentiate between light and dark.
Around 1902, when luminol was first synthesized, scientists noticed that it exhibited a blue glow in the presence of other compounds. Later on, it was found that the luminol reaction occurred in the presence of blood. Its use in crime scenes was first implemented by German forensic scientist Walter Specht in 1937. When the luminol solution is sprayed, the iron present in hemoglobin in blood catalyzes the reaction to produce a blue glow.
Glow sticks were first made in the 1960s when a scientist, Edwin Chandross tried to copy fireflies. He thought it was fascinating how they gave off a natural light. He made the first glow stick from oxalyl chloride and hydrogen peroxide. Since Edwin’s invention many scientist after made improvements to the invention. The United States Navy worked on creating glow sticks independently and received a patent in 1973. Glow sticks started to become popular in the 1980s and since then are still very popular today. The largest glow stick was made in 2009 and was 8ft 4 inches tall. Glow sticks can be used for entertainment when dancing they are very popular for raves, parties, night clubbing, special events etc. glow sticks are the safest light sources in emergencies, They are used because they are very efficient and do not require any batteries or electricity. Glow sticks are portable and waterproof can bear high pressure situations and that is why military forces and campers use them and have them on hand.
The first topic to be discussed in this paper is a description of Hydnum repandum, which was until recently referred to as Dentinum repandum. The description of the fungi will start with the appearance of H. repandum, and will be followed by the life cycle of the noted species.
The fungus sclerotinia sclerotiorum over winters as sclerotia either in the soil or in stubble at the soil surface (Morton and Hall, 1989). If the weather (moisture and temperature) is favorable, small mushroom-like structures called apothecia will be produced on the sclerotia. Each sclerotia can several apothecia. Apothecia can produce millions of spores called ascospores. Ascospores will be released in air when the apothecia is mature. Some ascospores land on canola plants and infect dead canola tissues like fal...
An example of bioluminescence is a firefly. The production of light in bioluminescent animals is caused by converting chemical energy to light energy (Bioluminescence, 1 of 1). In a firefly, oxygen, luciferin, luciferase (an enzyme), and ATP combine in the light organ in a chemical reaction that creates cold light (Johnson, 42). This bright, blinking light helps the male firefly attract female fireflies as a possible mate. Other examples of bioluminescent organisms are fungi, earthworms, jellyfish, fish, and other sea creatures (Berthold Technologies, 1 of 2).
[IMAGE] This work[IMAGE] We can see how different wavelengths of light affect photosynthesis by looking at action spectra. An action spectrum relates the rate of photosynthesis to the wavelength of light being received by a plant. For green plants, including algae, the action spectrum shows that
The Effect of Wavelength on Photosynthesis Rate Aim: To be able to To investigate how different wavelengths (colors) of light affect the photosynthetic rate of the synthetic. I will use a pant that is a pond weed called elodea. I will measure the rate of photosynthesis by measuring the amount of o2 given off in bubbles per minute from the elodea. I will do this by placing the Elodea in a test tube with sodium hydrogen. carbonate then I will vary the light wavelength (color) using colored.
An example would be the firefly squid, which has thousands of photophores, or organs that emit a deep blue
Coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. There are more than 25,000 known species of organisms and countless others that have yet to be identified (Helvarg, 2000). Reefs thrive on the shallow edge of tropical seas, most often on the eastern edge of continents along warm water currents that brush the coasts. Reefs cannot live in cold waters and are limited by ocean depth and available sunlight. Coral is the foundation of the reef community, providing a three-dimensional structure where thousands of species of vertebrates and invertebrates live and feed. Some species of coral are hard, while others soft. Some are branched, yet others are compact and rounded. Coral is made up of large communities of tiny jellyfish like polyps. These polyps absorb calcium from the sea water and secrete a hard limestone skeleton. At night the polyps extend sticky, stinging tentacles from their skeletons to capture and consume small floating organisms such as zooplankton. Every coral has a two-stage life cycle: the larva, and the polyp. The larval stage is free swimming, and the polyp is stationary. Ocean currents carry the larva from the stationary parent polyp to any hard, clean, silt-free surface where, if the conditions are perfect, the larva grows into a coral forming polyp, never to move again (Levin, 1999). One of the most valuable resources for coral polyps are algae. Some live on the coral skeletons, but one type in particular, zooxanthellae, lives inside the tissue of the polyps. Zooxanthellae makes up about half the weight of the fleshy polyps and are not only a valuable food resource, but they are responsible for the brilliant colors associated with coral. When coral looses these prec...
This experiment synthesized luminol (5-Amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione) and used the product to observe how chemiluminescence would work. The starting material was 5-nitro-2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione, which was, after addition of reaction agents, refluxed and vacuum filtered to retrieve luminol. Using two stock solutions, we missed our precipitated luminol with sodium hydroxide, potassium ferricyanide, and hydrogen peroxide, in their respective solutions, in a dark room, to observe the blue light
Other than the wavelengths of visible light, there are other wavelengths which our eye is unable to see. Infrared is one example that can be felt by skin. Infrared light causes the temperatures of things to rise. It is owing to this particular wavelength rays which cause the rise in temperature of earth and atmosphere in general.
The Effect of Light Intensity on the Rate of Photosynthesis in an Aquatic Plant Introduction The input variable I will be investigating is light, as light is just one of the 4 factors required in the green-plant process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which green-plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, water & chlorophyll to produce their own food source. This process is also affected by the temperature surrounding the plant (the species of plant we experimented with, pond weed, photosynthesised best at around 20 degrees centigrade.) Light, temperature & CO2 are known as limiting factors, and each is as important as the next in photosynthesis. Light is the factor that is linked with chlorophyll, a green pigment stored in chloroplasts found in the palisade cells, in the upper layer of leaves.
however it does not easily absorb green or yellow light, rather it. reflects it, this decreases the rate of photosynthesis. This can
Light can be classified as a form of electromagnetic radiation, which includes visible light. The ‘light’ commonly referred to in everyday life belongs in this category. The electromagnetic spectrum includes other types of radiation such as gamma rays, radio waves and cosmic rays, all of which possess distinct wavelengths, frequencies and energy levels. These forms of electromagnetic radiation are not visible to the human eye but can be perceived by selected species of animals, such as bees. Figure 1 below displays the electromagnetic spectrum and provides a basic insight into the respective characteristics of different forms of radiation.