The human body emits a very weak light, not visible to the naked eye, which turns off with death. The effect, known as “chemiluminescence”, is due to the emission of photons (particles of light that possess energy) by biological tissues. A group of researchers from the University of Calgary and the National Research Council of Canada, has managed, thanks to sophisticated and highly sensitive techniques, to observe this glow, called Upe (emission of ultra -demolish organic photons), in mice and leaves of two different species of plants.
Considering the biological processes underlying this fascinating phenomenon, all other animals, including human being and plant organisms, are also believed to emit it. According to researchers, being able to measure the Upe could represent an effective and non -invasive diagnostic method, capable of revealing the health of our body in the future. The details of the research were published on the The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
What is due to this phenomenon
The phenomenon of chemilumininsence had already been observed in isolated tissues and cells, such as cathedral tissue and bacterial colonies, but never in whole living beings, as in this research. This light in the visible spectrum is so weak that it falls within the order of 10-1,000 photons emitted every second per square centimeter of fabric, with a wavelength (the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can perceive) between 200 and 1,000 nanometers. To generate this light, in the form of chemiluminescence, would be several biological processes such as oxidative stress and intracellular communication.
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Oxidative stress
The source of this light, according to researchers, could be the effect of various reactive oxygen species (ROS) (chemical species, chemically reactive, containing oxygen) that living cells produce when they are subject to stress such as heat, poisons, pathogenic agents or lack of nutrients. “Arrange a means of monitoring the stress of individual fabrics in humans or animals at a distance, or even bacterial crops or samples – said researchers – could provide technicians and medical specialists with a powerful non -invasive research or diagnostic tool”.
The experiment on mice
Using sophisticated charging device cameras with electrons multiplication (EMCCD) and charged mating device (CCD), the researchers placed four mice in a dark box from living to detect the emission of photons; Subsequently they suppressed them, brought their body temperature to that of the living body, and again detected the emission of photons. From the comparison they observed an evident difference in the number of photons: the glow had vanished with the death of the mice.
The intensity of the ultra -widespread photonic emission produced by a mouse before and after death (Credits: Salari et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett.2025)
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The experiment on plants
The researchers also conducted a similar experiment on the leaves of Arabidopsis Thaliana and Heptappleurum arboricola that produced equally significant results. The team subjected the plants to physical and chemical stress, and noted that the bright glow increased when the leaves were damaged or sprayed with various types of chemicals. “After an acquisition of images lasting 16 hours, our results showed that the damaged parts in all the leaves were significantly brighter than the unmanaged parts of the leaves,” said the researchers. This provides concrete tests that the reactive species of oxygen could actually be responsible for brightness.
The intensity of the ultra -widespread oozing emission produced by four leaves subjected to physical and chemical stress (Credits: Salari et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett.2025)
