Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#1

Post by brahadeesh » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 5:45 PM UTC

Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting
blog.suny.edu

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#2

Post by sycren » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 6:23 PM UTC

Similar work to the 2010 Cambridge University student iGEM team - http://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge

Here is their research for bioluminescent trees - http://2010.igem.org/Team:Cambridge/Tools/Lighting

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#3

Post by bglazer » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 6:29 PM UTC

That's a super cool idea.

I do wonder about unintended consequences. Invasive glowing trees might wreak havoc on ecosystems, especially on tree dwelling nocturnal creatures. At least they'd be easy to spot :)

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#4

Post by vitd » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 6:33 PM UTC

Serious question - what happens in fall when the leaves fall off the trees? Also, with a simple light bulb, or even lamp post, it can be replaced quickly and cheaply. (OK, maybe not cheaply for the whole lamp post, but relatively easily.) But planting a tree takes years for the tree to grow. This doesn't seem realistic to me, though it does seem really cool.

Also, how much light do they give off? All of the images on the post are computer generated. I'd like to see a photo of this actually working.

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#5

Post by JDLongley » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 6:53 PM UTC

bglazer wrote: post #3

That's a super cool idea. I do wonder about unintended consequences. Invasive glowing trees might wreak havoc on ecosystems, especially on tree dwelling nocturnal creatures. At least they'd be easy to spot :)

Its highly unlikely that these plants would ever succeed as an invasive species because the energy consumption required to glow puts the plant at a massive disadvantage. I ordered something similar from a kickstarter a few months ago:

http://www.glowingplant.com/

They say that within a couple generations, the glowing feature quickly disappears due to natural selection.

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#6

Post by lentil_soup » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 6:59 PM UTC

JDLongley wrote: post #5

bglazer wrote: post #3

That's a super cool idea. I do wonder about unintended consequences. Invasive glowing trees might wreak havoc on ecosystems, especially on tree dwelling nocturnal creatures. At least they'd be easy to spot :)

Its highly unlikely that these plants would ever succeed as an invasive species because the energy consumption required to glow puts the plant at a massive disadvantage. I ordered something similar from a kickstarter a few months ago: http://www.glowingplant.com/ They say that within a couple generations, the glowing feature quickly disappears due to natural selection.

Actually quite a few scientists tried to stop that kickstarter because of the dangers it could prove to the ecosystem:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2013/jun/0...

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#7

Post by yohann305 » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 7:02 PM UTC

I remember backing a kickstarter project back in 2013 which accomplished the same thing on a small plant. As of today, it barely emits enough light and it's all but ready for production. Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antonyevans/glowing-pla...

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#8

Post by sosuke » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 7:16 PM UTC

This doesn't sound great, what about all the tree dwelling critters that would be unable to hide or sleep?

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#9

Post by toomuchtodo » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 7:16 PM UTC

yohann305 wrote: post #7

I remember backing a kickstarter project back in 2013 which accomplished the same thing on a small plant. As of today, it barely emits enough light and it's all but ready for production. Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antonyevans/glowing-pla...

I too backed this project! Disappointed by the output, but still happy to see it reach production.

Re: Bioluminescent trees as an alternative to electric lighting

#10

Post by sedev » Wed, Dec 17, 2014, 7:17 PM UTC

vitd wrote: post #4

Serious question - what happens in fall when the leaves fall off the trees? Also, with a simple light bulb, or even lamp post, it can be replaced quickly and cheaply. (OK, maybe not cheaply for the whole lamp post, but relatively easily.) But planting a tree takes years for the tree to grow. This doesn't seem realistic to me, though it does seem really cool. Also, how much light do they give off? All of the images on…

The embedded video does have some footage of an actual plant glowing, but it's tiny. :(