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"."

Comments

news for nerds

[djKing]

if you can't get a mate at least you know how the firefly does.

-Peace
Dave

Re:Hmm...

[sharkey]

You have to light it up, too.

--

At least THAT'S out of the way...

[sharkey]

Push beyond the fireflys, let's see how Rudolph does it! Maybe we can find out how he flies, too.

--

Re:Hmm...

[Mike Schiraldi]

You misunderstood the analogy -- the human equivalent to this is getting ground effects or neon license plate frames. Chicks go crazy over that stuff. It must be true; i read about it on The Onion.

--

pharmaceutical solution to ca. energy crisis

[pangloss]

[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 ;)

Re:synchronized lightning bugs

[Fluffy the Cat]

The insects make subtle alterations to the rate of their flashing in order to synchronise with those around them. The wave of synchronisation spreads thoughout the cluster, and you end up with an entire swarm of insects flashing in time.

My Deepest Apologies

[lildogie]

The insects live for two years as larvae, eating worms in the soil, and for just two weeks as adults - enjoying just 14 nights of flying, flashing and courtship. Then it is all over.

Oh God. I was a kid. I didn't realize what I was doing, keeping those bugs trapped in a jar.

Live Documentary

[Velox_SwiftFox]

Mrs Jalin: There's a man at the door with a moustache.

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...]

in relation

[joq]

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.

Re:in relation

[Fishstick]

>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.

Indeed. I remember when we were kids we would swat the bugs in mid air because they would then stay lit as they went bouncing off and dropped to the ground. As I remember, they weren't dead and would resume normal flashing after a few minutes.

Also, we would catch a bunch and put them in a jar, then shake the jar and watch them all light up for a few moments. I wonder how this behavior is explained by the nitric oxide trigger?

---

Re:in relation

[Dancin_Santa]

The scientists put a firefly in a container and started adding nitric oxide. The Nobel prize for medicine was awarded a few years ago for the demonstration that nitric oxide was helpful in the dilation of blood vessels. What the link between that and shining asses, I don't know, but they used the research to come to the firefly theory.

The key to the lighting is oxygen. When oxygen is flowing to the lantern, the photocytes light up. The nitric oxide suppresses the firefly's mitochondria from energy production (oxygen usage) which in turn leads to an excess of oxygen which then gets funneled into the tail, lighting it up.

I'm sure this was in the article. If not, see the MSNBC one (that I submitted this morning) with video and pics.

Dancin Santa

Nitric Oxide Transistors Anyone?

[Louis Savain]

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?

But can they apply this ...

[OmegaDan]

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.

Re:Hmm...

[DESADE]

If male humans had this, the California power crisis would not exist. Every male would be "turned on" 24 hours a day.

Re:Ummm

[cybermage]

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 ;)

Re:Hmm...

[bapink01]

I heard this on NPR. The scientist said that this (the newly understood control mechanism) is similar to the way the male body controls penis erections.
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!".

News for nerds? Indeed.

[Faux_Pseudo]

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".

O Glorious Day!

[rmst]

This is a great day indeed. Armed with this knowledge, I do see many great things that can be done! For example, giant stadiums can be lit by giant fireflies, bred in special giant tubes! Everything will be giant. This is a truly monumental discovery. I hope to live to see the day where ALL light sources have been replaced with fireflies. Headlights, lamps, yes, even the sun. For the sun will run out eventually! But a giant firefly, bred just for the job, well, he'll obviously live forever if we care and nurture him properly. And then we can form a giant cult centered around the worship of the giant firefly... This is the start of a new renaissance. I can feel it in the air. A day is coming. A day where men no longer have to rely on reliable, efficient LED keychain lights, but genetically engineered fireflys, tempermental ones at that. Also, schoolchildren could be encouraged to play with them. Is there any facet of our lives that this discovery won't touch? I can't think of one...

Let's review:

• Transportation: medium Firefly
• Communcation: Miniscule Fibre-OpticFireFlys with tiny keyboards to tap in information
• Stadium Lighing: Giant Firefly
• Replacement Sun: Giant GIANT Firefly

Yes, this is a great day indeed!

... And Jellyfish hats.

Re:O Glorious Day!

[f_thegreenbear]

Last surplus catalog I stared at had PS/2 socket lights for laptop use in the dark.

My mobile lights up the keys in the evening.

I WANT MY FINGERS TO GLOW (but only when I say so) and the currently-available techniques for soing so mostly involve running wires under my fingernails, which hurts.

Please can someone whip up a batch of retrovirus to stick some switchable glowing into my fingers? Pretty please? I promise to wave my fingers around humourously in dark rooms full of stoners if you do?

Re:synchronized lightning bugs & people

[Telastyn]

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.

Brings to meaning...

[DanEsparza]

This brings new meaning to 'NO means NO' (the chemical symbol for nitric oxide is NO). How ironic is that -- that this has to do with attracting a mate, and the chemical symbol for 'on/off switch' that attracts a mate is 'NO'. Kinda spooky, eh? Also weird is that 'NO' is 'ON' spelled backwards (in case you hadn't noticed).

Sometimes I wonder if God is just the ultimate prankster, and we're in the joke of a lifetime (literally)...

Dateless Loser

[_newwave_]

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'll sure be glad when...

[Talkischeap]

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!

-------------------
Hey, Ho, Let's Go!
R.I.P. Joey Ramone

You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals...

[screwballicus]

Hey baby, did a nitric oxide molecule slip into your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Medical problems explained!

[thePfhitz]

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". ;)

Finally

[halftrack]

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.

Hmm...

[qxjit]

Strange -- attracting women by flashing my butt never worked for me...

Re:Nitric Oxide?

[Tuxinatorium]

The article is talking about nitric oxide, chemical formula NO. Nitrous oxide, AKA laughing gas, is N2O. It's a completely different chemical.