Decoding the Secret Signals of Glow-in-the-Dark Sea Creatures

When these divers accidentally uncovered an enormous world of neon nightlife underwater, the only logical next step was to engineer a way to see like a shark.

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David Gruber: Seeing the Ocean in Neon
"Only animals with special filters in their eyes are privy to the neon light show, including many fish. For perhaps millions of years, these creatures have signaled each other in this secret language of light. 'There's a hidden layer of pattern and color that humans are just tuning in to,' Gruber says. 'It's a whole new way for us to perceive, and better understand, life in the sea.'"

Scientists Have Developed Shark Vision
"'If fluorescence does help sharks see other members of their species, it could help them find each other for mating or socialization. But biofluorescing might also make the sharks more obvious to predators. Gruber says it’s not clear what animals eat these species—maybe other, bigger sharks—or what their own visual abilities might be. Very few shark species have been 'brought to the eye doctor,' he says. 'This study really opened my eyes up,” Gruber adds (no pun intended), 'to how little we know about shark vision.'"

Discovery of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) (Nobel Lecture)
"We started to collect jellyfish at 6 a.m., and a part of our
group began to cut off the rings at 8 a.m. We spent all
afternoon extracting aequorin from the rings. Then, we
collected more jellyfish in the evening for the
next day. Our laboratory looked like a jellyfish
factory, and was filled with the jellyfish smell.... Nowadays GFP and its homologues are indispensable in
biomedical research, due to the fact that these proteins selfcontain a fluorescent chromophore in their peptide chains
and they can be expressed in living bodies."

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This episode is dedicated to Nobel prize winner Dr. Osamu Shimomura, who passed away in October 2018 after a lifetime of invaluable research on marine life and light that sparked a revolution in experimental biology.
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Science In The Extremes ventures to the ends of the earth to bring you pioneering research and innovations that are advancing our civilization and broadening our understanding of the universe. Follow intrepid researchers as they plunge into the deepest parts of the ocean, trek across the arctic tundra, and explore the cosmos, because being a scientist isn’t just about being in the lab.

Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.

[anonymousbub]

Thank you making these videos they helped me and my school get fourth out of sixteen school for a Science Bowl commotion as well as getting there school spirit award!

[vegapunk]

2:41 We found it in ssting!rays~ *jazz hands*

[rolfw]

Really appreciate the Science you all cover. I knew about A. Victoria but had no idea that GFP-related proteins are in so many undersea species! Wow. Thank you Seeker and Dr Gruber.

[SarthakRana]

I love every bit of this video, I hope to do research like this by myself one day.

[mrd_____m______g]

Another informative, innovative and inspiring video by Seeker.
Keep innovating, keep inspiring.

[uss_]

Would be funny if genetic engineers figured out a way to get these animals to flash advertisements at people

[Shanghaimartin]

19 dislikes from bio-fluorescent eels, angry that their secret has been discovered !!

[ScienceByMike]

Please tell 2:50 is a poster I can buy?

[mapsandmarvels]

Thank you for such a beautiful and interesting video! You are doing a great job by dissemenation of science. It motivates me to continue my biochemistry study ;)

[khyltarras]

Genetic engineered trees with bioluminescent organism will save a ton of money instead of wasting electricity.

Edit: now give me a Nobel Prize!

[mattphorwich]

Would really like a video about how the atoms form the proteins for bioluminescence and florescence!!

[rogerc]

Try shining infra red some bio materials may be weird frequency filters.

[--Paws--]

Note: biofluorescent is not the same as bioluminescent. Bioluminescent creatures (fireflies, dinoflagellates) make their own light. Biofluorescent creatures absorb light and give off that light afterwards, like a glow-in-the-dark sticker would.

[RevJynxed]

Red does go into water just not as far. I'd like to see them use UV blacklights down there.

[Helicondrummer]

"ancient elders" "we are part fish"... I think this guys has spent to much time in the presence of Cthulhu.

[HeroOfTheDay]

6:32 is this guy really a scientist? I find it incredibly hard to believe any sea creature could survive the hard freeze that comes along with losing the freaking sun

[jayachandran]

Could you make a video on boomerang nebula

[captainplane]

Why are the jellyfish at the end so friggin *fast*

[shadowrealm]

Brighter than my day... Its beein dark and raining here