Light of life is real: Scientists prove we emit a glow that fades when we die
Scientists observed a radiant and intriguing physical phenomenon in mice and leaves that might suggest that all living things emit light until they die.
At first glance, the proposition that every living thing has a light body sounds vaguely New Age, calling to mind auras. However, researchers from the University of Calgary observed the clear existence of 'biophotons' in two plant species and mice, suggesting we just might glow until we expire.
Though the science behind biophotons is controversial, some scientists believe they exist. According to this school of thought, though all living being seem to emit electromagnetic radiation, a small number of photons.
Nevertheless, their origins and the role that play in biological processes nevertheless remain fuel for debate, according to a paper about the subject 'Biophotons: A Hard Problem.'
In the latest study, researchers from the University of Calgary pushed this niche in science forward that borders on spiritualism or at least gives credence to the idea that 'we are all made of stars.'
Advancements in UPE imaging allowed the instrument to detect the undetectable. Any light that radiates from living things is typically too faint. Not anymore.
Aside from the light show and the associations with vague notions that we are made up of more than flesh, the study of light might directly apply in monitoring stress, specifically, in tissues, potentially giving physicians a non-invasive diagnostics tool.
University of Calgary researchers imaged four immobilized mice in a dark box before and after euthanizing them. To evade any critique around the effect of heat, researchers kept them warm after they perished.
Remarkably, UPE imaging captured individual photons in the visible band of light, according to Science Alert. Into their first hour of death, these so-called 'biophotons' faded.
The important detail is: the photons "rose" over the mouse's body but specifically over its organs, head, and paws, as per Daily Mail.
And the emission of photons known as "ultraweak photon emission" (UPE), likely indicates "ongoing biological processes and cellular activity,' they stated in the study, as they diminished.
'This shows in a very clear way that UPE is associated with being alive,' head researcher Dr. Oblak was quoted in Daily Mail.
Next, they tackled another lifeform: plants. In this case, they applied stress to the thale cress and dwarf umbrella tree by injuring them and even applying chemical agents such as the numbing drug benzocaine. The experiment suggested that the glow could originate from reactive oxygen species. Sites of injury, specifically, radiated brighter than the undamaged or unaffected areas of the leaf.
Daily Mail interviewed a biologist uninvolved with study that explained that the fading of light is due to ceased oxygen supply to the tissues, which didn't negate the current researchers' findings, necessarily. If the blood was kept circulating after death, the cells would still produce the effect.
Nonetheless, Calgary researchers presented strong evidence that the body produces light as a healing response, perhaps, so it might be a valuable tool in locating where tissues might have incurred damage. Either way, too little or too much, one's light levels could aide doctors in the future in pinpointing a problem, specifically Alzheimer's, Daily Mail concluded.
The study was published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
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