How do fireflies glow?
Superoxide is an oxygen molecule that has an extra electron. Ordinarily, superoxide's high reactivity makes it toxic to cells. But as this short video documentary explains, superoxide can be useful: in helping fireflies to glow in the dark.
#chemistryoffireflies #superoxide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPMwZK2-yM
It's also very useful for your body's t-cells, which have organelles filled with superoxides: they ingest bacteria and blast them with superoxides to kill them. (And that's part of our body's inflammatory response: leaked superoxides damaging adjacent cells.)
ReplyDeleteMy question is why do they glow? What is the benefit?
ReplyDeleteAttracting mates, probably, David Chako
ReplyDeleteAnd of interest only to biochem geeks, superoxide dismutase, the enzyme that all living things produce to protect themselves against the damage superoxides cause, is the fastest-acting enzyme known. It catalyzes the breakdown of superoxides faster than they can diffuse through water to get to the enzyme.
ReplyDeleteJohn Bump It would be cool if they just did it for fun. :)
ReplyDeleteWe don't know: perhaps they do! (And since when is attracting mates not fun?)
ReplyDelete