Science & Technology

Scientists create glowing plants

By T.K. Randall
May 5, 2013 ·  19 comments

Image Credit: NOAA Attempts to create luminous plants have been going on for decades. In Taiwan two years ago a group of scientists enjoyed limited success by implanting glowing gold nanoparticles in to a species of aquatic plant. Another team at the State University of New York also managed to make a plant glow, however neither attempt produced the necessary luminosity to replace conventional lighting.

Now however three researchers working on a new endeavour known as the "Glowing Plant project" are hoping to improve on previous experiments by employing improved DNA sequencing and printing. The team is using a protein called luciferase which can be broken down to generate light in a process that is so efficient that it produces hardly any heat at all.

Source: Discovery News | Comments (19)

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