A few hours after sunset one night in July of 2016, a Ph.D. student walked into a New Jersey hotel carrying a bouquet of butterfly nets. The travelers who usually occupy the place looked up from their ...

Think of the firefly abdomen like a black box of bioluminescence. For around 60 years, scientists have known what basic ingredients go into the box—things like oxygen, calcium, magnesium, and a ...

A 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 ...

Allison Racela (poster presenter), D. Kohrt, D.M. Fontaine, B.P. Huta, and B.R. Branchini "Luciferases and Luciferin Analogs with Potential for in vivo Imaging ...

A luminescence reaction modeled on fireflies can detect contamination with organophosphates with high sensitivity, ease, and low cost. At the center of this technology is a new enzymatic method for ...

There are over 2,000 individual firefly species, all within the taxonomic family of Lampyridae. But the answer to the lightning bug's light all happens in the same organ in its abdomen: the lantern.