bioluminescence
/ˌbʌɪə(ʊ)luːmɪˈnɛs(ə)ns
/noun [mass noun]
1The biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as glow-worms and deep-sea fish.Although its biochemistry is well understood and is applied for various scientific techniques, the survival value of bioluminescence to the organisms themselves often remains unclear....
- How do flows trigger physiological responses such as bioluminescence in organisms, or changes in growth rate, nutrient uptake, and cell structure?
- The chemiluminescent reactions found in living organisms are called bioluminescence.
1.1The light emitted by organisms such as glow-worms and deep-sea fish.With transfected cells grown as solid tumors in vivo, the bioluminescence light is emitted shortly after systemic administration of luciferin....
- If the source is a bioluminescent searchlight, the ideal reflectance depends on the irradiance of the bioluminescence striking the organism relative to the background radiance.
- This suggests that directed bioluminescence and the transmission of bioluminescence through gut walls are more important than ambient light for detecting animals at mesopelagic depths.
Derivatives
bioluminescent
- Scarier yet, some deep-sea-dwelling, sci-fi-looking breeds of anglerfish, which attract prey by dangling a bioluminescent lure from their foremost dorsal spine, can take down fish their own size in a single gulp.
- When you reach the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, just south of town, mountain-bike a trail network among thousands of migratory birds, then cap it off with a swim in the nearby bioluminescent bay.
- Mosquito Bay is one of the last and best of the world's bioluminescent coves, blessed with billions of tiny, delicate dinoflagellates that sparkle like gems at the slightest motion.