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The brilliance of bioluminescence - Leslie Kenna

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Some lucky animals are naturally endowed with bioluminescence, or the ability to create light. The firefly, the anglerfish, and a few more surprising creatures use this ability in many ways, including survival, hunting, and mating. Leslie Kenna investigates this magical glow - and our quest to replicate it.

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Meet The Creators

  • Animator Johan Sonestedt
  • Educator Leslie Kenna
  • Director Veronica Wallenberg
  • Narrator Michelle Snow
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Additional organisms that bioluminesce.
Some fungi, such as Panellus stipticus.
Consider taking a trip to observe bioluminescent creatures. Or do armchair travel - search on the Internet for images, video ,and general information on the following: Waitomo Glowworm Caves – New Zealand and Vieques Island / Bioluminescent Bay – Puerto Rico. (The water contains single-celled bioluminescent dinoflagellates that emit a flash of blue light when agitated.) Also check out Vaadhoo Island – Maldives.
Here's an article titled, Bioluminescence in the Ocean: Origins of Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Diversity by E. A. Widder.
Original report on expressing firefly luciferase in a tobacco plant. Science.
Transient and stable expression of the firefly luciferase gene in plant cells and transgenic plants. Ow DW, DE Wet JR, Helinski DR, Howell SH, Wood KV, Deluca M.
Scientific impact of research on green fluorescent protein.
Since their invention 25 years ago, Glow Sticks have become a Halloween staple. They're perfect as safety lights because they're portable, cheap, and they emit a ghostly glow. Glow Sticks are also extremely popular on the rave scene (as are light necklaces, light glasses, and light rope), and they make an ideal lamp for SCUBA divers and campers. But, do they glow the same way animals do? Click here to find out.
TED-Ed
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New York, NY
In what way is the light from a glow stick the same as the light in a firefly? How is it different?
05/15/2013
Avatar for Dzenis koca
Dzenis koca • COMPLETED LESSON

it is the same "cold" light, it does not heat as it glow. It comes from chemical reaction but when chemical reaction is over, the light will fade out, which is not the case in bioluminescence. Chemical used in bioluminescence are renewable by the living organism that created those chemical in first place.

05/17/2013
Avatar for Janine Schwab
Janine Schwab • COMPLETED LESSON

A way the light from glow sticks is the same as the light in fireflys is that they both produce their own light. This is an important fact because some things look like they are light up but are actually just fluoresent. One way the light from a glow stick is different from the light in a firefly is that the glow stick uses chemicals and "chemiluminesence" instead of bioluminesence.

05/29/2015
Avatar for Alejandra Angel Bueno
Alejandra Angel Bueno • LESSON IN PROGRESS

the differemt light a glow stick or light firefly is that firts is light luminescence at night work for them and light in a firefly its lantern are chemicals, when luciferase and luciferin mix.

10/15/2015
Avatar for GABY GLEZ
GABY GLEZ • COMPLETED LESSON

It is interesting because we realize how certain are born with BIOLUMINESCENCE living and change as sciencie and create some changes.

10/15/2015
Avatar for benjamin alonso
benjamin alonso • LESSON IN PROGRESS

It is interesting the option of putting the light of fireflies in the trees but it goes a little against nature but cmabios are to improve the world

10/15/2015
Avatar for cervantes anai
cervantes anai • LESSON IN PROGRESS

luminusencia light is better for the planet contamune unless the chemical light.and that is renewable lumineciencia

10/15/2015
Avatar for Alexis De La Luz
Alexis De La Luz • COMPLETED LESSON

is different from firefly light is produced by chemical reactions see against luciferase with luciferin and oxygen in the body of the firefly .

10/15/2015
Avatar for abel Martinez
abel Martinez • COMPLETED LESSON

it helps to have a partner, to others can help fend off other larger animals they even make others eat their victimizers.

10/15/2015
Avatar for Victor Ramírez
Victor Ramírez • LESSON IN PROGRESS

No, because the firefly use the bioluminescence for the help it attract a mate on a warm, summer night, but it's a just one of many living things that can glow.

10/15/2015
Avatar for noah leitstein
noah leitstein • COMPLETED LESSON

A glow stick uses chemicals and fades after time, where bioluminescence doesn't fade and uses renewable resources such as oxygen

12/01/2015
Avatar for Matt Bershadskiy
Matt Bershadskiy • LESSON IN PROGRESS

it is the same because it both uses chemicals to provide light. it is different because a glow Sticks light will eventually run out. fire Flys have replenishable chemicals

12/01/2015
Avatar for Lexi Urbanek
Lexi Urbanek • COMPLETED LESSON

Both are chemical reactions and they both produce light tht doesnt Create heat

12/01/2015
Avatar for James Mironovich
James Mironovich • COMPLETED LESSON

They are the same cause they both give off light but a glow stick used chemicals and firefly use natural resources in their body also glow stick fades firefly light is renewable

12/01/2015
Avatar for Mike Wroblewski
Mike Wroblewski • COMPLETED LESSON

The lights are similar because they are both a source of light and are based off a chemical reaction. The glow stick eventually runs out while the firefly renews its light source

12/01/2015
Avatar for Zoe Goldfarb
Zoe Goldfarb • COMPLETED LESSON

It's the same cause it's light coming from something but different cause a glow stick isn't living

12/01/2015
Avatar for Nicholas Cushion
Nicholas Cushion • COMPLETED LESSON

The light in a glowstick is similar to a firefly by them looking very similar. But, fireflies produce their own light and they control it being on or off. For glow sticks, the light will eventually run out.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Lauren Morrone
Lauren Morrone • COMPLETED LESSON

Light from a glow stick is similar to that of a firefly because both sources of light are possible without anything electronic like batteries or plugs. They are different because eventually, light in a glow stick will fade and never work again, but light in a firefly doesn’t fade since it runs on renewable and reusable resources.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Angelina Mustillo
Angelina Mustillo • COMPLETED LESSON

they are the same because they both light up, different because the flow sticks eventually run out of chemicals while the fireflies never run out

12/01/2015
Avatar for Jordan Levy
Jordan Levy • COMPLETED LESSON

The light in a firefly does not fade and it is bioluminescent. The light in a glow stick is fluorescent and is not made by a living thing.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Tori Sera
Tori Sera • COMPLETED LESSON

A glow stick runs out of light and chemicals after a while but the firefly uses bioluminescence in order for it to glow. They are similar because they both produce light.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Renae Taylor
Renae Taylor • LESSON IN PROGRESS

They are both illuminescence but fireflies use reusable energy to make themselves glow while glow sticks run out.

12/01/2015
Avatar for matthew ziegler
matthew ziegler • COMPLETED LESSON

A glow stick foes glow but fades over time because it does not use natural resources. A firefly uses natural resources that can help it glow until it dies

12/01/2015
Avatar for bartolomeo ficili
bartolomeo ficili • COMPLETED LESSON

The light from a firefly can be reused while the light in a glow stick goes out when it's done

12/01/2015
Avatar for danielle carara
danielle carara • COMPLETED LESSON

It is different because at some point it will run out of light and the light in the fire fly never runs out because it is made of natural things. They are alike because they both give off light to living things .

12/01/2015
Avatar for Dana Brahamsha
Dana Brahamsha • COMPLETED LESSON

A glowstick runs out of chemicals that produce the light while fireflies use bioluminescence so glow which is natural. They are both similar because they both glow.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Peter Stoermer
Peter Stoermer • LESSON IN PROGRESS

It is the same because they are both a chemical reaction. They are different because the light in a firefly doesn't dim and the light in a glowstick does

12/01/2015
Avatar for melissa maturo
melissa maturo • COMPLETED LESSON

They are both florsent and light up. However they are different because one is man made and the other is environmentally made

12/01/2015
Avatar for Xavier Hanson
Xavier Hanson • COMPLETED LESSON

A glowstick will run out of light eventually because all of the chemicals are used up

12/01/2015
Avatar for ryan brendli
ryan brendli • COMPLETED LESSON

Both the glow stick and the firefly are illumenescence. But the glow stick fades away and the firefly does not.

12/01/2015 • 
IN RESPONSE TO matthew ziegler Show the comment
Avatar for Michael Garrett
Michael Garrett • COMPLETED LESSON

It's the same because it is a chemical light. But it isn't natural

12/01/2015
Avatar for michael kushnir
michael kushnir • COMPLETED LESSON

The light from a glow stick is similar to the light of a firefly because they both produce light through chemical reactions. The two types of light are different because the glow stick's light runs out of fuel after some time a fireflies light is made up of renewable chemicals.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Ben Levine
Ben Levine • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Light from a glow stick is the same as from a firefly because they are both light. They are different because the firefly light is natural.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Timothy White
Timothy White • COMPLETED LESSON

They both don't give off heat. But the glow stick uses chemicals and the animal does not it is natural.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Allan Edwards
Allan Edwards • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Both are the result of a chemical reaction only light from a firefly lasts as long as there is oxygen.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Heather Blair
Heather Blair • COMPLETED LESSON

Totally agree

12/01/2015 • 
IN RESPONSE TO Dzenis koca Show the comment
Avatar for Joseph Safee
Joseph Safee • LESSON IN PROGRESS

They glow bright

12/01/2015
Avatar for Sabrina Parlanti
Sabrina Parlanti • LESSON IN PROGRESS

They both glow the bright and the firefly last for ever.

12/01/2015
Avatar for Rebecca Gervitz
Rebecca Gervitz • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Fireflies produce their own light, glowsticks do not. Eventually, the light in the glowstick will run out but the light that the firefly emits will not.

12/06/2015
Avatar for raahim memon
raahim memon • COMPLETED LESSON

It is interesting because we realize how certain are born with BIOLUMINESCENCE living and change as sciencie and create some changes.
It is interesting the option of putting the light of fireflies in the trees but it goes a little against nature but cmabios are to improve the world

08/07/2016
Avatar for mahkai benjamin
mahkai benjamin • LESSON IN PROGRESS

the light of these two are the same in the way that they both happen through a chemical reaction and doesn't heat up when lighting, they are different because the light from the glow stick runs out while the firefly regains energy to make they light

09/14/2017
Avatar for polly cracker
polly cracker • COMPLETED LESSON

because the fire fly can control when it wants too glow

10/31/2019

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Animator Johan Sonestedt
  • Educator Leslie Kenna
  • Director Veronica Wallenberg
  • Narrator Michelle Snow