The bamboo coral _Isidella_ displaying bioluminescence in the Caribbean in 2009. Sönke Johnsen, CC BY-ND Our research focuses on octocorals – soft-bodied corals such as sea fans that have treelike ...

The splendid deep-sea coral Iridogorgia sp. Deep-sea octocorals that are known to be bioluminescent. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Note to editors: Photos illustrating this ...

Some 540 million years ago, an ancient group of corals developed the ability to make its own light 1. Scientists have previously found that bioluminescence is an ancient trait — with one group of tiny ...

Hundreds of plants, fungi, and animals can do it. Now scientists think bioluminescence may have evolved 540 million years ago in Earth’s ancient oceans. Research suggests that bioluminescence may have ...

The more humans have explored the deep oceans, the more examples we’ve found of animals with a seemingly magical talent: bioluminescence, the ability to produce their own light. Bioluminescence is ...

Bioluminescence is the ability of organisms to create and emit light when chemical reactions happen, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Marine animals can use it to ...

Humans have long been fascinated by organisms that can produce light. Aristotle, who was a scientist as well as a philosopher, wrote the first detailed descriptions of what he called "cold light" more ...

Mesmerizing footage from a new PBS Nature show captures the bioluminescent beauty of brilliant blue waves crashing along San Diego's coast. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

Despite its ominous name and appearance, the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) is a gentle deep-sea dweller that feeds on marine snow organic debris drifting from upper ocean layers. Adapted ...

Andrea Quattrini receives funding from Smithsonian Institution, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean Exploration, and the National Science Foundation. Danielle DeLeo does not ...

Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study from scientists with the ...

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Written by Danielle DeLeo, postdoctoral associate in biological sciences at FIU. Our research focuses on octocorals ...