Light emission by both flora and fauna is known as bioluminescence.
One of the most fascinating areas in the natural world, that has attracted the attention of both artists and scientists is that of the firefly.
There are possibly hundreds of poems that allude to the firefly but here are some lines from just four which I particularly like.
“Tonight, the past seems as sharp and inevitable
As the moment in Indian Summer when you glance up
From a photograph album and discover the fireflies
Pulsing in the woods in front of the house.”
Edward Hirsch, “Wild Gratitude”
“- like fireflies whose lights
Are like false stars that, with the daylight dim.”
Derek Walcott, “Sicilian Suite”
“My flowers are fireflies, –
Specks of living light
Twinkling in the dark.”
Rabindranath Tagore
“ – fireflies taking torches to the rose.”
Charles Tomlinson
However, a comprehensive approach to poetry about the world of luminescent insects was published in 2021. It is called Bioluminescent Baby and is by Fiona Benson (Guillemot Press). It also includes woodcuts by Anupa Gardner. Poems cover ones to lampyridae, various fireflies and moths amongst others. As the Guardian reviewer said; “this is a wonder of a book and a thing of beauty.”
Now turning to the recent science.
The phenomenon of bioluminescence occurs when the oxidation of a small-molecule d-luciferin is catalysed by an enzyme luciferase to activate the chemistry pathway which leads to the emission of light. There are up to 30 known bioluminescent systems. Some of those that have been identified based on the luciferin-luciferase couple have found several technological applications, for example in sensing, hygiene monitoring and imaging. (Chem. Soc. Rev., 2021,50, 5668-5705).
Perhaps the most challenging and exciting is that being carried out on the so-called “glowing plants”. Work reported in 2021 from Professor Michael Strano’s group at MIT has shown that by absorbing phosphor-based nanoparticles in plant leaves, without causing damage, they could be made glow either by absorbing photons from sunlight or an LED. The researchers showed that after 10 seconds of exposure to a blue LED, the plants could emit light for about an hour, being brightest for the first five minutes and then gradually diminishing. Early days, but promising applications include outdoor lighting as the plants were also shown to continue to photosynthesise as normal. (SCIENCE ADVANCES • 8 Sep 2021 • Vol 7, Issue 37 • DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe9733)
