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Scientists Find Firefly 'Switch'
Johan Jonasson writes "Scientists have found the "switch" that allows a firefly to light up its body. The beetle flashes the "lantern" on its abdomen to attract a mate. Researchers have long understood how the light is generated but the control mechanism used by the insect has been a mystery. Now, a US team has been able to show that the simple molecule nitric oxide acts as the on-off "button"."
Ok smarty pants, then 'splain THIS. How they do that?
My Freakin Blog
The poor lil bugs only have one thing that turns them on. Heck, I got lotsa things that turn me on ;)
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If Bill Gates had a nickel for every time Windows crashed...
if you can't get a mate at least you know how the firefly does.
-Peace
Dave
Free as in "the Truth shall set you..."
So we finally have an insect powered by nitrous oxide, and it only uses it to switch a stupid light on and off? Believe me, if I add nitrous oxide to my motorbike, it won't be used for illumination, although the term "speed of light" may still apply...
Okay okay, I'll do it before anyone else. I'm not a chemist. Look, I don't expect you to know everything about subjects you know nothing about do I?
Can we add blinkenlights to the kernel?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
You have to light it up, too.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Push beyond the fireflys, let's see how Rudolph does it! Maybe we can find out how he flies, too.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
Being a hardcore geek, I will be obligated to explain to my girl why the fireflies blink and shimmer so. Must perform Illumiati-style cover-up.
Blar.
that is the funnuiest fucking thing I've read in a long time. My GF is literally ROTFL.
Heh
Pete
The sole purpose of the Internet is to get porn and bomb making plans into the hands of children.
Best. Sig. Ever.
Pete
The sole purpose of the Internet is to get porn and bomb making plans into the hands of children.
[Nitric oxide's] part in assisting men achieve erection has been exploited by the modern impotence drugs like Viagra.
;)
So, slip some viagra into the punchbowl of the next female firefly gathering, and we have a new source of long-lasting, organic, romantic lighting fixtures
Hmm...and the "firefly impersionation" my uncle Earl used to do by bending over, flicking a lighter near his ass, screaming "LOOK OUT!"...
...turns out to be nothing like a real firefly after all...
Earl! Why didn't you tell me?! I was not prepared for this!!!
Karma: Excer..ex...excellahhh...realll good (mostly affected by drinking not done in moderation)
Luciferase, the Firefly's green light of consensual sex, is the enzyme referred to (and is also used as a marker in plant studies.)
mefus
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um, er... eh -- *click*
mefus
In Open Society, GPL Software frees YOU!
damn I had that problem in high school. Even just riding the bus on the way there, it'd go over a bump and I'd have to hold my books in front of me for the next half-hour. :0
mefus
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um, er... eh -- *click*
mefus
In Open Society, GPL Software frees YOU!
Mr Jalin: Tell him I've already got one. (Mrs Jalin hits him hard with a newspaper) All right, all right. What's he want then?
Mrs Jalin: He says do we want a documentary on Fireflies.
Mr Jalin: Fireflies!
Mrs Jalin: Yes.
Mr Jalin: What's he mean, Fireflies?
Mrs Jalin: FIREFLIES!! LIGHTNING BUGS! LUCIFERIN OXIDIZING BEETLES! LAMPYRIDAE!
Mr Jalin: Oh fireflies, I thought you said bacon. (she hits him again) All right, all right. What's he charge then?
Mrs Jalin: It's free.
Mr Jalin: Ooh! Where does he want us to sit?
Mrs Jalin: (calling through the door) He says yes.
(Mr Zorba enters carrying plywood flat with portion cut out to represent TV. He stands behind flat and starts.)
Zorba: Good evening. Tonight fireflies. Fireflies are a type of beetle (order Coleoptera), consisting of about 1,900 species that inhabit tropical and temperate regions. The common glowworm is a member of this family...
Mrs Jalin: Not very interesting is it?
Zorba: What?
Mrs Jalin: I was talking to him.
Zorba: Oh. Anyway, Researchers have long understood how the light is generated but the control mechanism used by the insect has been a mystery. Now, a US team has been able to show that the simple molecule nitric oxide (NO) acts as the on-off "button". It is just one more example of the prominent role played by NO in biochemistry...
Mrs Jalin: Dreadful isn't it?
Zorba: What?
Mrs Jalin: I was talking to him.
Zorba: Oh. Well anyway... to understand the role NO plays in fireflies, Barry Trimmer, from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and colleagues studied the insects in tiny custom-designed chambers.
Mr Jalin: Switch him off.
(Mrs Jalin gets up and looks for the switch unsuccessfully)
Zorba: Whenever the fireflies were exposed to nitric oxide they glowed or flashed almost continuously, and they stopped once the nitric oxide was turned off... (looking out) What are you doing?
Mrs Jalin: Switching you off.
Zorba: Why, don't you like it?
Mrs Jalin: Oh it's dreadful.
Mr Jalin: Embarrassing.
Zorba: Is it?
Mrs Jalin: Yes, it's perfectly awful.
Mr Jalin: Disgraceful! I don't know how they've got the nerve to put it on.
Mrs Jalin: It's so boring.
Zorba: Well ... it's not much of a subject is it ... be fair.
Mrs Jalin: What do you think, George?
Mr Jalin: Give him another twenty seconds.
Zorba: Anyway the majority of the Fireflies are members of the Family Lampyridae...
Mrs Jalin: We knew that (she gets up and goes to the set)
Zorba: (quickly) However, what is more interesting, er ... is the Firefly's er ... sexual chemistry.
Mrs Jalin: (stopping dead) Oh!
Zorba: Yes, the Nitric oxide's part in assisting men achieve erection has been exploited by the modern impotence drugs like Viagra...
Mrs Jalin: (going back to sofa) Disgusting!
Mr Jalin: Ought not to be allowed.
Mrs Jalin: (again) Disgusting!
Mr Jalin: But more interesting.
[...]
[Apologies to Monty Perl, or whoever that was...]
Wow, I Wonder when they can embed this into a linux system. Fire flys will soon power all of googles search arrays.
"If a man watches 3 football games in a row he should be declared leagaly dead" - A
What I want to know is how the scientists managed to figure this out without killing the bugs. Did they use insect anesthesia or something to keep them alive to see their abdomens move to cause the light? If so then what about when you step on em and smear em, what causes the chemical to light, since obviously at that point the bug is dead.
So if it's just the after affect of the bug being smashed which causes the light to shine, how does it manage to halt light, is their like a belly shade covering it...
Now on a funnier note, imagine if we as people had that, well males rather. Our faces would be swollen from getting slapped at the beach by our partners.
Want Root?
Now, a US team has been able to show that the simple molecule nitric oxide acts as the on-off "button"."
Cool. Now the real important question to us computer geeks is, can they switch on and off at 1000 Ghz?
"Turn off your butt!"
Sigged!
Man, I'd love to be able to internally generate Nitrous Oxide. Haha! Wheeeee!
You do, but in very small amounts. It dialates your blood vessels, kind of like that little blue pill...
I've always wanted a set of indicator lights on my forehead, things like "Angry, Horny, Sad, Tired, and Planning Your Murder ", the lights could vary in intensity with the emotion, or blink as a warning.
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!
You can. And you probably do. This is, of course, assuming that you're a male like the other 98% or so of slashdot, but have you ever had a woody? Yes? There you have it, that's some magic nitrous oxide in action, right there in your pecker.
And we thought only bugs could do tricks with the stuff!
If male humans had this, the California power crisis would not exist. Every male would be "turned on" 24 hours a day.
Other than, maybe "news for nerds? Stuff that matters?"
;)
Don't you think it's important to the future of geekdom to know how to attrack a mate?
Of course, using Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide) to do it is probably illegal in some states
Some people have a way with words, and some people, um, thingy.
Hey, time to light up my butt!
Quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Anything said in Latin, sounds profound.
One of the ways Viagra works is to make the control chemicals more effective.
Bob Dole with a glow in the dark schlong running after Brittney Spears. How is that for scary imagery.
As they say in france, "BoooYah!".
Fireflys, Lightingbugs call them what you will but I would rather think of them as just a wonder of nature and a pleasure to view on a hot southern night. Science is cool but somethings are more amazing unknown.
Some nerds are interested in matter of science other than computers and electronics, believe it or not. You know, all the stuff outside your server closet?
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
There has been much said about the relivance of this topic. So let us define nerds. Here is my definition: Some one outside of the main stream with an interest in intalectual feilds of study in both the higher and lower sciencs. By that defintion anything with the suffix -ology qualify, like say for example biology. Is it the best idea for a story? No. But flip through you news paper and you will see sports scores on the front page and murders on page c-17. If the coments generated by this story are any indecation then the topic "Its' Funny Laugh" should be remove all together lest some one expand there brain past "sanctioned nerd topics".
Ascii artist &
In the future, I believe that super computers will be based on electrical AND chemical materials. These scientist, having learned how the firefly uses nitric oxide as a switch (a fast one at that)may be part of the key to unlocking the most powerful computer in existance, the human brain. Sure, modern computers can do calculations faster than a human, but is that so. Modern computers cannot reason nor do they have emotions. I believe that the human brain performs functions electrically and chemicly, but more important, the software, the programs, the source code itself are entirely chemical. When we learn how to code with chemical properties to control complex electro/chemical processors, then we will have our next great leap in computer science. To know is knowledge...to apply is wisdom.
To know is knowledge, To apply is WISDOM
The chicks love me.
This sig is umop apisdn.
... let's not get silly.
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Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him.
Let's review:
Yes, this is a great day indeed!
... And Jellyfish hats.
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Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him.
But, I knew some one would throw some light on that issue!
/me hides in fear from the Pun Police.
I don't think the insects had to be alive. They probably started by examining the anatomy of the insects, and observing what chemicals they had in them to compile a list of possible activation chemicals. Then they just extracted the base chemical, tested the potential activation chemicals one by one, and watched what happened. (Who provided funding for this kind of research is another question....)
Why do they glow when you smash them? Probably because you rupture the sacks they carry the chemicals in and they mix. After the reaction is fully carried out and the chemicals are used up, the glow fades away.
"Now on a funnier note, imagine if we as people had that, well males rather. Our faces would be swollen from getting slapped at the beach by our partners."
That's just plain dumb. I'm not going to even bother commenting on that.
"Now, a US team has been able to show that the simple molecule nitric oxide acts as the on-off "button"."
Funny, I usually see stuff start to glow when I inhale some nitrous...
Oh, NO not N20. That extra N makes a lot of difference.
Ant this day has come!
For those of you living in a CA rolling black-out area, I got a solution to light up your dark night.
It's a natural light, made from a cluster of firefly, and with a switch. You can turn it on and off, at your will. How convenient.
Wrong oxide. Nitrous oxide, N20, is laughing gas, the stuff used by dentists alright, but the switch that operates the firefly flash is nitric oxide, NO, a different oxide of nitrogen. Nice try at a bit of humor, though.
;-)
Wonder what does the EPA has to say about this? Can't have all those fireflies flashing so much! Hmm. Maybe it is excessive firefly flashing that causes smog instead of oxides of nitrogen themselves
The first 3 sentences are actually more "insightful" than "funny." A guy named Furchgott at SUNY Downstate won the Nobel prize for his work with NO and blood flow in humans, which directly contributed to the development of Viagra (and the hordes of copycats to come).
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
also if you note, most people when walking in small groups (where the sound is easily discernable) will fall into step so at least the sounds of feet walking will be in sync, even if the left-right-left-right is reversed.
Sometimes I wonder if God is just the ultimate prankster, and we're in the joke of a lifetime (literally)...
That might not be all that far-fetched. I have a Biology textbook that contains a picture of a tobacco plant that is glowing, thanks to a firefly gene researchers incorporated into the plant's DNA.
Make a webserver, which lets people click a button to turn on the firefly's light. The webserver has a webcam attached, so everybody can see 'em. Add that to the list of interestingly odd but useless websites.
www.Beyond7.com Insane modern art water sculpture.
Man, I'd love to be able to internally generate Nitrous Oxide. Haha! Wheeeee!
Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
The fireflies light up with laughing gas. And any scientist with a party attitude might look at the prospect of long studies in darkened fields with laughing gas as rather a fun way to spend an evening. Not all scientists tend to be dour bores, in fact many are quite a lively bunch.
"Face it, a nation that maintains a 72% approval rating on George W. Bush is a nation with a very loose grip on reality.
If only humans had one of these. :(
I'd be doing so much better in life...
Do you like German cars?
Males blink a certain sequence and hope to see an answering flash from a female.
God knows I could use an emulator for this.
It is just one more example of the prominent role played by NO in biochemistry. In humans, the molecule is crucial to the dilation of blood vessels and the signalling that goes on between neurons in the brain. Its part in assisting men achieve erection has been exploited by the modern impotence drugs like Viagra.
Sweet, so I should expect a drug from Pfizer soon that'll make my ass glow?
I believe it's time to figure a way to get these "lanterns" to our appendages. A little nitric oxide sac located around the spleen would do nicely too.
Ooouuuchhh
Dancin Santa
You had fireflies? We had to rub two sticks together to make fire then throw them to simulate fireflies!
Dancin Santa
Hello, single female geek here attracted by your mention of Nitrous Oxide.
but i read about this a couple days ago from bbc, which i found out about from the bbc slashbox
also from the slashbox: hubble detects star-less planets
GM hypo-allergenic cats
among others, all easily found in the bbc slashbox
this just seems ... worthless, because its already on /., just in a slashbox
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Brian Voils
"A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students."
Brian Voils
"A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students."
Those scientisits can make a switch for COMMON SENSE , which the majority of the posters here seem to be sorely lacking.
Uh... anyhow...
Unfortunately, the only "fireflys" I've ever seen, are the fake ones at Disneyland.
But here in the redwoods of California, we have this real cool crawly thing, that looks like an armoured caterpillar about two inches long, and it has blue glowing dots, two on each piece of "armour", for about eight to twelve per bug.
One can only see them at the new moon, when it's pitch black under the redwood canopy, and one's eyes are dark adapted.
But they are the coolest little things crawling around in the redwood duff around here at night, besides scorpions. I've never been able to identify them, any ideas?
I was able to find this cool photo of a hillside covered with glowing caterpillers.
We also have this waaay cool beautiful yellow/orange mushroom called the Jack-O-Lantern Omphalotus olivascens. It glows green/blue in the dark also, enough so, that one could read by the light it gives off!
No matter what all the jaded losers think, nature is cool!
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Hey, Ho, Let's Go!
R.I.P. Joey Ramone
If it don't GO... chrome it. ~ Frank Banks
Scientists have found the "switch" that allows a firefly to light up its body. The beetle flashes the "lantern" on its abdomen to attract a mate.
Great, now if they wonder if they could turn their attention to the "switch" that would allow us to turn the light off in Bill Gates's body. That "lantern", or whatever it is he has shoved up his abdomen, is obviously fuelling his anti-social, monopolistic behaviour. And that's something that most people don't find very attractive.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Hey baby, did a nitric oxide molecule slip into your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
So logically, it follows that eating fireflies will give you an erection. Especially if you are a guy.
Any volunteers for gathering hard data?
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/292/ 5526/2413a.
Huzzah for another great mystery of life revealed...
...a new source of long-lasting, organic, romantic lighting fixtures :)
long-lasting? the little buggers only live 14 days as adults. and you thought changing a light bulb every few months was nasty...
-=phalkin=-
I stole this sig.
In humans, the molecule is crucial to the dilation of blood vessels and the signalling that goes on between neurons in the brain. No wonder I always feel "light-headed". ;)
You kids have it too easy these days...
Back in my day, we sat there on our porches and appreciated fireflies for what they were: magic.
Now all this new-fangled "science" comes along and messes up the way it should be. Bah!
Three comments:
1.Yes, I can now complete my life work: "The meaning of life"
2. It was my lacking piece in my 10 jillion piece puzzle.
3. I've devoted my life to figure this one out. Now I'm going to hang myself.
Look a monkey!
I don't know about anyone else here, but I wouldn't want some stranger *flashing* me.
I may be wrong about this, but I dont believe anyone has inserted firefly genes into tobacco. I have seen the picture you speak of and I think that they used GFP (Green Flourescent Protein), a Cnidarian protein.
Strange -- attracting women by flashing my butt never worked for me...
Windows is more convenient than Linux just as having an ingrown toenail is more convenient than seeing a podiatrist.
...News for Nerds, stuff that matters. The keyword is italicized.
Repeal the DMCA!
Wow, I asked on the Linux kernel mailing list, and they weren't able to turn up anything. Have you submitted this patch to the Linux kernel mailing list?
Ummmm... Laughing gas is NitROUS, not NitRIC oxide... A small yet lethal difference of one oxygen atom. Don't be sniffing the nitric oxide now... :)
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
No no no no.... you'll just digest the fireflies, and the NO will be consumed in your gut. What you have to do is collect a couple hundred fireflies, mash them into a pulp, and rub them all over your genitals... hey, this sounds kinky... might not even need women after all....?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Arginine --[NADPH->NADP+]--> N-omega-hydroxyarginine------> citruline + NO The enzyme is NOS... or nitric oxide sinthetase (makes sense doesn't it?). At least this is how it's produced in humans, and I assume it's fairly similar in fireflies... Being a neurotransmitter... produced in the nerves... them little bugs must have nerve endings for just this purpose, and the "switch" is actually inside their 'brains' (if you can call it a brain). Of course whether or not this is a volountary action, the turning on and off of the blink, remains to be seen as someone no doubt will soon claim to be an authority on firefly psychology... Does THIS answer your question?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.