Episode 157 - Bioluminescence and Biofluorescence

Glowing organisms might seem like something out of science fiction, but not only do they exist here on Earth, they are incredibly common. Some species glow when exposed to certain kinds of light, and others produce their very own light in the darkest habitats on the planet. This episode, we explore glowing life: how they do it, what they use it for, and what we can tell about how this remarkable ability came to be. In the news: painted turtles, dinosaur herbivores, human brains, and insect ears. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:04:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:37:00 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:29:00 Patron question: 02:10:30 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast  Follow this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible! www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev Follow and Support us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast Instagram: @commondescentpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com Or send us physical mail at: The Common Descent Podcast 1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165 Johnson City, TN 37604 The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/