Environmental Graffiti

Bioluminescent Insects Glowing in the Darkness

Bioluminescent insects certainly look like they have more fun than other bugs – but don’t most bright things bedazzle human eyes? To many, they’re poetic examples of nature’s spectacular qualities, though if you were a more humble critter you might think fireflies and glow worms just a bit too flash. So are lightning bugs and their like all show and no go, or do they have the substance to back up all that style? And how do you tell who’s who amidst all the glitz?

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What Became of the Glowing Green Bunny?

What do you get if you cross a bunny rabbit, some jellyfish genes and a madcap Brazilian bio-artist? Alba, the glowing green rabbit. Yes, we know, it's an oldie, but it's a goodie too, and one that's worth retelling, if only to see what became of the bunny. In 2000, artist Eduardo Kac commissioned a French genetics lab to make his genetically modified creation by implanting the albino rabbit with Green Fluorescent Protein from a type of jellyfish.

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