ScienceBioluminescence in Deep-Sea CreaturesDid you know that ninety percent of deep-sea inhabitants are capable of emitting light directly from their bodies? The emission of light from an organism living in the ocean is known as bioluminescence. As a human race, we must delve deeper into the study of these creatures in hopes of fully understanding what bioluminescence is, why it is used, and how it can help us. Bioluminescence is a mixture of chemicals inside a living thing that glows and usually lives in the twilight zone of the ocean. Bioluminescence consists of “two different types of light emission. Luminescence occurs when chemical compounds mix and glow. Incandescence is a filament inside the creature that becomes very hot and emits light. (Wilson, Tracy). Bioluminescence is primarily about chemistry and how different chemicals mix to give different appearances. Luciferin produces light, while luciferase is a catalyst that often needs a charged ion to activate it. Marine life most commonly uses coelenterazine, a type of luciferin. These particular animals live in the deepest parts of the ocean, such as the twilight zone. These animals cannot function in the shallows of the ocean, so they retreat to the depths. The twilight zone has a depth of 660 to 3,030 feet, which means: "The only light that reaches where these fish are located is a greenish blue color that is absorbed by the plants, so most of the light that they emit is red” (Haddock). This scientist describes the world of color or lack of color that these special creatures face. The light in this area is usually red because there is not much light, plants absorb blue and green and animal life then emits red light. These creatures use this...... middle of paper ...... Sylvia. Darlene Crist. Gail Scowdoft. James Harding. World Ocean Census. New York; Firefly Books Ltd. 2009. PrintHaddock, SHD; McDougall, CM; Case, JF “The Bioluminescence Web Page,” http://lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/Knowlton, Nancy. Citizens of the Sea, Wonderful Creatures of the Marine Life Census. Washington DC: National Geographic Society, 2006. Print. McInnis, Joseph. Aliens from the Deep by James Cameron. Washington DC. National Geographic Society. 2003. Print. Wilson, Tracy. “How Bioluminescence Works,” July 10, 2007. HowStuffWorks.com, http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/all-about-animals/bioluminescece.htmz12January2014. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. “Bioluminescence Imaging Used for Eye Cancer Detection.” Daily Science. Science Daily, October 14 2009. .