Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




WATER WORLD
Study details fluorescent Red Sea corals
by Brooks Hays
Southampton, England (UPI) Jun 26, 2015


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

A rainbow of colors can be found 150 feet below the surface of the Red Sea. The cacophony of color is thanks to a variety of fluorescent coral species, newly detailed by researchers in England and Israel.

At more than 150 feet under the ocean surface, only blue light penetrates. Scientists didn't expect to find bright greens, reds and oranges, but here they were.

The glow-in-the-dark colors are the effect of fluorescent pigments in the corals' cells -- proteins that absorb blue light and reflect a plethora of brighter, longer wavelengths. Researchers at England's University of Southampton, as well as Israel's Tel Aviv University and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, are hopeful these pigment proteins will advance medical imaging technologies.

"Their optical properties potentially make them important tools for biomedical imaging applications, as their fluorescent glow can be used to highlight living cells or cellular structures of interest under the microscope," Jorg Wiedenmann, the head of Southampton's Coral Reef Laboratory, explained in a press release. "They could also be applied to track cancer cells or as tools to screen for new drugs."

The same proteins are also present in shallow water corals, but serve a sunscreen-like purpose for the corals and their algal cohabiters. There's no need for protection from the sun in places where collecting enough light for photosynthesis is a daily struggle.

Quite the opposite of guarding against ultraviolet light, researchers found some of the proteins seem to require ultraviolet light to achieve their fluorescent potential.

"We found, however, that some of the pigments of these corals require violet light to switch from their nascent green colour to the red hue of the mature pigment," said Southampton researcher Cecilia D'Angelo. "This is a particularly interesting property to develop markers for advanced microscopic imaging applications."

Scientists say they need to conduct more research to understand what biological roles these pigments play.

The neon corals are detailed in the journal PLOS ONE.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





WATER WORLD
Alaska researcher investigates fin whale deaths
Fairbanks AL (SPX) Jun 25, 2015
At least nine fin whales have been discovered floating dead in waters from Kodiak to Unimak Pass since late May. 'It is an unusual and mysterious event that appears to have happened around Memorial Day weekend,' said Kate Wynne, an Alaska Sea Grant marine mammal specialist and University of Alaska Fairbanks professor. 'We rarely see more than one fin whale carcass every couple of years.' O ... read more


WATER WORLD
Donors pledge $4.4bn in aid to quake-hit Nepal

Quake-hit Nepal appeals for aid to rebuild country

Frustration as tourists stay away from quake-hit Nepal

Malaysia says committed to MH370 hunt despite ship pull-out

WATER WORLD
Research findings point way to designing crack-resistant metals

Physicists fine-tune control of agile exotic materials

JPL, Caltech Team Up to Tackle Big-Data Projects

Cellulose from wood can be printed in 3-D

WATER WORLD
Discovery in the US of the invasive New Guinea flatworm

MARCO applauds fishery council move to protect deep sea corals

Using NASA data to show how raindrops could save rupees

Alaska researcher investigates fin whale deaths

WATER WORLD
First species of yeti crab found in Antarctica

Sudden shift in 'forcing' led to demise of Laurentide ice sheet

Alaska glaciers make large contributions to global sea level rise

Arctic Ocean rapidly becoming more corrosive to marine species

WATER WORLD
Designer wheat fails anti-aphid field test

The secret weapons of cabbages: Overcome by butterfly co-evolution

Genetic study of 'co-evolution' could provide clues to better food production

Alamo, French champagne vineyards vie for World Heritage status

WATER WORLD
Floods kill 55 in western India as relief work continues

Trinity scientists persuade volcanoes to tell their stories

Glacial quakes may serve as indicators of glacier disruption

Drilling, not quake, caused Indonesia mud volcano: paper

WATER WORLD
Uganda's 'Uber for motorcycle taxis' shows it pays to be safe

French defence minister in Mali visit to shore up peace deal

Clashes in Ghana over slum clearance initiative

Mali's Tuareg-led rebels sign landmark peace deal

WATER WORLD
An early European had a close Neandertal ancestor

Climate change may destroy health gains: panel

Tool use is 'innate' in chimpanzees but not bonobos, their closest evolutionary relative

400,000-year-old dental tartar provides earliest evidence of manmade pollution




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.