Burning Bright Fireflies are one of nature’s few creatures that can create their own light using an organic chemical reaction. But a group of scientists from Syracuse University may have unlocked the secret of the firefly’s bioluminescence to create a lighting system that does not require batteries or electricity. This is not the first time scientists have tried to recreate natural bioluminescence. These scientists, however, have made a breakthrough by combining nano-sized superconductors with chemical reactions to make their lighting array 20 to 30 percent more efficient than previous attempts. A firefly produces light though a chemical reaction between luciferin and enzyme luciferase. The scientists have isolated the same luciferase enzyme and attached it to nanorods made out of two superconductor metals: an outer shell of cadmium sulfide along with an inner
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core of cadmium seleneide. The scientists simply need to add luciferin as a fuel to create a reaction that releases energy. The nanorods absorb the energy from the reaction, which is called Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer, and begin to glow. “The trick to increasing the efficiency of the system is to decrease the distance between the enzyme and the surface of the rod and to optimize the rod’s architecture,” said Mathew Maye, an assistant professor of chemistry at SU, in a release. “We designed a way to chemically attach, genetically manipulated luciferase enzymes directly to the surface of the nanorods.” The nanorods can also be manipulated in such a way that the scientists can change the color of the lights (turning it red, orange, or green, for instance). By arranging the nanorods in a rod-in-rod architecture, the nanorods produce a near-infrared light,
which could be used in night-vision goggles, telescopes, etcetera. Currently, the team’s light-up nanorods have not made their way outside of the chemistry lab. The team is still working on improving the sustainability of the chemical reaction for longer periods of time and creating larger lighting arrays. — By Kevin Lee
Now, Hands-free Texting in California L E G A L Texting-addicted California drivers will soon be free to write messages while zipping down the highway—provided they write those messages verbally, that is, using voice-operated, hands-free devices…phones not included. The Freedom to Communicate bill modifies the California state vehicle code to allow for an exception to the formerly allencompassing anti-texting law. The exception is this: “A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication, unless the electronic wireless communications device is specifically designed and configured to allow voiceoperated and hands-free operation to dictate, send, or listen to a text-based communication, and it is used in that manner while driving.” In other words, you can now text or e-mail in California, so long as you do it on a voice-operated, hands-free device that is specifically designed for the purpose of sending text messages and e-mails while driving. So what does this mean for California texters? Not a whole lot. The change has already gone into effect, but the exception does not, it appears, extend to phones. In fact, the California
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Highway Patrol explicitly told the San Jose Mercury News that the new law will not let drivers use their phones—even phones with voice-operated, hands-free software, such as Apple’s Siri— if they must pick up their phones to activate the software. “The phone can’t be in your hands,” CHP spokeswoman Jaime Coffee told the Mercury News. “Hands-free is key.” A representative from the office of the bill’s author, California Assemblyman Jeff Miller, tells NBCNews.com that the bill was “not crafted to apply to phones,” but rather to apply to devices such as in-dash navigation and messaging systems. This doesn’t change much. Though texting via voice-operated, hands-free devices may have been technically illegal in California, it’s not like there are very many cases--if any--of cops pulling people over for using completely hands-free devices. After all, using such devices for other purposes--such as changing the radio station or dictating navigation--is legal, and nobody can really tell what you’re actually doing. But maybe this means that Google’s Project Glass glasses will be legal to use while driving? After all…those are hands-free. —By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal
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