Corals May Have Been First Glow-in-the-Dark Animals
2024-04-29
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1A new study suggests ancient corals found deep in the ocean were the first animals to glow in the dark.
2To glow means to shine a steady light.
3Many animals, insects and sea life have the ability to glow.
4But a study from biologists based in the United States suggests corals started glowing 540 million years ago.
5Andrea Quattrini is curator of corals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
6She was one of the writers of the study.
7Quattrini said the ability to light up helps creatures living in the deep-sea to communicate.
8"It's very important in deep waters," Quattrini said.
9The new study recently appeared in the publication Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
10Scientists know about many ocean animals that light up, including fish, squid, octopus, jellyfish and even sharks.
11The ability to glow is called bioluminescence, it comes from a chemical reaction.
12Some animals use the light as protection.
13Others use it to find a mate.
14Steven Haddock is another study co-writer.
15He is a marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
16He explained that scientists used a paintbrush attached to an underwater vehicle to lightly touch the luminous coral.
17Haddock said the coral, when touched, begins to glow pink, orange, white, blue and purple.
18Danielle DeLeo is another study co-writer and a marine biologist at the Smithsonian.
19She said in some kinds of coral, the whole body glows.
20In others, "only parts of their branches will glow," she said.
21Scientists do not fully know the function of the glowing for coral.
22They do not know if it is meant to attract or keep away certain organisms, or possibly both.
23But DeLeo said the fact that corals light up so often means that the glowing serves a critical function.
24It is one thing to try to learn about why the corals light up.
25But how did the researchers determine that coral had been glowing for over 500 million years?
26To answer the question, the scientists built a family tree using genetic data from 185 species of glowing coral.
27They decided the common ancestor of all the glowing coral lived 540 million years ago and could glow just like the current coral.
28Before this research, marine scientists believed the earliest example of a glowing sea creature was a shrimp that lived about 270 million years ago.
29Coming up with an age of the earliest glowing coral helps add more information to the timeline of the development of life on Earth.
30The oldest glowing coral is now placed in the time of the Cambrian explosion, when life on Earth developed quickly.
31I'm Dan Friedell.
1A new study suggests ancient corals found deep in the ocean were the first animals to glow in the dark. To glow means to shine a steady light. 2Many animals, insects and sea life have the ability to glow. But a study from biologists based in the United States suggests corals started glowing 540 million years ago. 3Andrea Quattrini is curator of corals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. She was one of the writers of the study. Quattrini said the ability to light up helps creatures living in the deep-sea to communicate. 4"It's very important in deep waters," Quattrini said. 5The new study recently appeared in the publication Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 6Scientists know about many ocean animals that light up, including fish, squid, octopus, jellyfish and even sharks. The ability to glow is called bioluminescence, it comes from a chemical reaction. 7Some animals use the light as protection. Others use it to find a mate. 8Steven Haddock is another study co-writer. He is a marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. He explained that scientists used a paintbrush attached to an underwater vehicle to lightly touch the luminous coral. Haddock said the coral, when touched, begins to glow pink, orange, white, blue and purple. 9Danielle DeLeo is another study co-writer and a marine biologist at the Smithsonian. She said in some kinds of coral, the whole body glows. In others, "only parts of their branches will glow," she said. 10Scientists do not fully know the function of the glowing for coral. They do not know if it is meant to attract or keep away certain organisms, or possibly both. But DeLeo said the fact that corals light up so often means that the glowing serves a critical function. 11It is one thing to try to learn about why the corals light up. But how did the researchers determine that coral had been glowing for over 500 million years? 12To answer the question, the scientists built a family tree using genetic data from 185 species of glowing coral. They decided the common ancestor of all the glowing coral lived 540 million years ago and could glow just like the current coral. 13Before this research, marine scientists believed the earliest example of a glowing sea creature was a shrimp that lived about 270 million years ago. 14Coming up with an age of the earliest glowing coral helps add more information to the timeline of the development of life on Earth. The oldest glowing coral is now placed in the time of the Cambrian explosion, when life on Earth developed quickly. 15I'm Dan Friedell. 16Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press. 17_____________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19curator -n. a person who watches over something or keeps things in order 20branch -n. the part of a plant or tree growing off the main stalk or trunk 21determine -v. to think about something in order to reach a conclusion 22We want to hear from you. Have you seen glowing sea life? Where were you?