All living things spend a subtle light that fades after death

Light is often connected to life, be it through the warm glow of a campfire or through the brilliance of the sun. Nevertheless, there is another kind of light-a almost imperceptible, but omnipresent in living organisms.

This subtle lighting, known as Ultraweak Photon Emission (UPE), is not visible to the mere eye, but a natural by -product of metabolic processes.

Researchers at the University of Calgary recently examined UPE in a study that dealt with their biological importance. In contrast to bioluminescence, which creates visible light, Upe emits extremely low intensive light, which lies in the spectral range of 200 to 1,000 Nm.

This phenomenon is observed in a variety of life forms, from bacteria and plants to animals and humans.

Illuminate in life and death

Upe could signal vitality in mice. The researchers compared and recently deceased mice and took up UPE with highly sensitive imaging devices.

The living mice shine brighter, while the recently deceased hardly spent light. Both groups were kept at the same temperature of 37 ° C (98.6 ° F), but the difference in UPE was unmistakable.

This weak light may not look like a lot, but could indicate the inner rhythm of life. The study suggests that UPE is not only random. It could be bound to basic biological processes that are continued as long as life.

Plant reactions: light as a signal

Plants also emit UPE, but in them it reacts to stress. The researchers exposed plant tissue to temperature changes, injuries and chemicals. Injured areas shone more intensively and the brightness increased after chemical treatments.

Why the additional light? When plants have stress, chemical reactions are enlarged that create reactive oxygen species (ROS). These molecules are like cellular alarm bells. In their hurry to signal damage, they generate tiny sparks of light that are only visible through advanced imaging.

Living cells flash outer outbursts

Imagine living organisms as busy chemical laboratories. Cells carry out countless reactions to maintain life, and some reactions create ROS. These molecules play double roles – they are of essential importance for the cell signals, but can become harmful if the values ​​rise.

The ROS mirror and oxidative stress begins during the stress. This imbalance causes electrons and generates conditions for UPE. It is not a glow in the dark – it is a weak, quiet photon that is unnoticed by the human eye.

Invisible light from living cells

The recording of UPE requires ultra -hard housings and specialized cameras. The researchers used electron multi-tipping cameras (load-linked devices) for plants and CCD cameras (load-loving devices) for mice. These devices can identify UPE in controlled, dark settings and minimize background noise.

The pictures showed more than just weak lights. They showed how the UPE changes with temperature, stress and injury. In mice, the light disappeared after death. Chemical treatments and injuries flicker the specific regions in plants and marked them as tension or damage.

What if doctors could only recognize stress and illness by measuring UPE? The study points out that UPE could serve as a non-invasive diagnostic tool.

In mice, the difference between life and death appeared in the intensity of UPE. Stress -induced light towers exposed in plants.

If scientists can decode UPE patterns, they can develop paths to recognize diseases earlier. The monitoring of UPE was able to uncover cellular stress before the symptoms become obvious and offers an insight into the hidden battles of the body.

Light emissions and life processes

Upe blurred the border between physics and biology. It is not just a peculiarity of cellular chemistry; It is a signal, a pulse, a silent language of life.

The researchers suggest that the understanding of UPE could open doors for new diagnostic techniques and research channels.

But a lot is unknown. Why do some stressed cells emit more light than others? How do specific injuries UPE pattern change? And could one day serve as a life indicator, a subtle sign of biological activity in tissues?

The secrets of the invisible light

The study by the University of Calgary raises more questions than she answers.

What exactly triggers UPE in stressed plants? How does the cell metabolism drift these weak flashes of light? And could these light signals one day serve as an early warning sign of diseases?

At the moment Upe remains a quiet, invisible light – a flickering of living cells that scientists only begin to understand. But when the researchers dig deeper, you can find that even the slightest light shows important information on what it means to live.

The study is in published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

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