By Deann Gayman | University Communication and Marketing
From the lakes in Minnesota and the streams in Kansas and Nebraska to the Pacific Ocean off the shores of California and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Husker biologist Rene Martin is chasing light.
Or, more specifically, bioluminescence and biofluorescence.
Martin, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, stepped into the global spotlight with her discovery of biofluorescence in birds-of-paradise. Her article published in the Royal Society for Open Science. By investigating specimens at the American Museum of Natural History, Martin discovered that 37 of the 45 known species use biofluorescence. The research was featured in dozens of outlets, including The New York Times, the Guardian, Forbes and Smithsonian Magazine.
“I think people like flashy things, and that’s what a bird-of-paradise is, and now we know they’re also glowing,” Martin said. “As more of these studies come out, often due the availability of more advanced technology, I think we’re going to find out (bioluminescence or biofluorescence) is more prevalent than we thought.”
Read the full story at https://news.unl.edu/article/husker-scientist-illuminates-species-ability-to-glow