Word: luciferin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1920-1929
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
That is, about 40 living forms secrete a substance called luciferin. In the presence of moisture luciferin oxidizes, forming oxy-luciferin, the substance which actually glows. As oxy-luciferin glows it loses its oxygen and returns to luciferin, which after a short rest may be oxidized again...
...question of whether man shall ever be able to reproduce living light, which is at least twice as efficient as best artificial light, becomes the question whether chemists will ever be able to synthesize the protein luciferin. Dr. Harvey thought that "that will come in the future. We now synthesize fats, sugars, and some of the polypetides." Luciferin seems to be either a peptone or a proteose...
Experimenters on both sides of the Atlantic are working to produce " cold " light, i. e., illuminating substances with a minimum of heat. Professor E. Newton Harvey, of Princeton, and Dr. W. R. Amberson, of the Nela Research Laboratories, Cleveland, have isolated " luciferin " and " luciferase," the phosphorescent substances which produce the glow of fireflies and similar animals. They hope to manufacture them artificially in quantity...