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Most animals on earth are bioluminescent, but almost all of them live in the ocean - and scientists aren’t sure why.

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Bioluminescence: the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes.
• Biofluorescence: The emission of previously absorbed light by fluorescent proteins in a living organism.
• Luciferin: an organic substance, present in luminescent organisms such as fireflies, that produces light when oxidized by the action of the enzyme luciferase.

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CREDITS

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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Aldo de Vos | Music

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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES

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Belkin, S. Bioluminescence Fundamentals and Applications in Biotechnology - Volume 1. Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag GmbH, 2014.Davis, Matthew P., et al. “Repeated and Widespread Evolution of Bioluminescence in Marine Fishes.” PLOS ONE, vol. 11, no. 6, 8 June 2016, p. e0155154, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155154

Delroisse, Jérôme, et al. “Leaving the Dark Side? Insights into the Evolution of Luciferases.” Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 8, 30 June 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.673620

Griffiths, Mansel W. “ATP BIOLUMINESCENCE | Application in Hygiene Monitoring.” Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, 1999, pp. 94–101, https://doi.org/10.1006/rwfm.1999.0085

Haddock, Steven. Senior Scientist, Monterrey Bay Aquarium - Personal Communication.

Hellinger, Jens, et al. “The Flashlight Fish Anomalops Katoptron Uses Bioluminescent Light to Detect Prey in the Dark.” PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 2, 8 Feb. 2017, p. e0170489, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170489

Marek, Paul, et al. “Bioluminescent Aposematism in Millipedes.” Current Biology, vol. 21, no. 18, Sept. 2011, pp. R680–R681, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.012

Martini, Séverine, et al. “Distribution and Quantification of Bioluminescence as an Ecological Trait in the Deep Sea Benthos.” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 10 Oct. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50961-z

Martini, Séverine, and Steven H. D. Haddock. “Quantification of Bioluminescence from the Surface to the Deep Sea Demonstrates Its Predominance as an Ecological Trait.” Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, 4 Apr. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45750

Mofford, David M., et al. “Latent Luciferase Activity in the Fruit Fly Revealed by a Synthetic Luciferin.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 111, no. 12, 10 Mar. 2014, pp. 4443–4448, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319300111

Yirka, Bob. “Researchers Seek to Explain Why There Are so Few Land Dwelling Bioluminescent Species.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 23 Aug. 2012, https://phys.org/news/2012-08-bioluminescent-species.html