A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Or a turn of a key, if one decides to take a car. But I digress.

I spent some time searching for and reading reviews of books on bioluminescence on amazon.com. I also did an internet search for articles and websites about bioluminescence. Here is what I have found:

Books: (1) Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology by Marc Zimmer, Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books (2005). (2) Aglow in the Dark: The Revolutionary Science of Biofluorescence by Vincent Pieribone and David F. Gruber, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2005). (3) Bioluminiscence: Chemical Principles and Methods by Osamu Shimomura, Hackensack, New Jersey: World Scientific Publication Company Inc. (2006).

I was able to get the first two books from the Austin Public Library and they promise to be interesting and informative reading. I was disappointed that the 3^rd book is not part of the library’s holdings since Professor Shimomura is a giant in the field of bioluminescence, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for his discovery of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in jellyfish. I am going to try and get the book via interlibrary loan.

Websites and Articles: There were lots of pages to sift through, but I was able to narrow down the results to the following:

(1) The Bioluminescence Web Page

http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/

(2) Bioluminescence info and research from the Latz Laboratory of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography

http://siobiolum.ucsd.edu/biolum_intro.html

(3) Bioluminescence in the Sea - Jan 2010 article in the Annual Review of Marine Science

http://www.annualreviews.org/eprint/pbWcm4DyqvQGJ7F2qGkc/full/10.1146/annurev-marine-120308-081028

(4) Bioluminescence article by Professor John Lee, University of Georgia

http://www.photobiology.info/LeeBasicBiolum.html

(5) Bioluminescence article by Steven Haddock, Research Scientist, Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09bioluminescence/background/bioluminescence/bioluminescence.html

(6) Detailed scientific article on applications of bioluminescence http://www.promega.com/resources/product-guides-and-selectors/protocols-and-applications-guide/bioluminescent-reporters/

(7) TED talk on Glowing Life in an Underwater World by Edith Widder (CEO and Senior Scientist, Ocean Research and Conservation Association)http://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_glowing_life_in_an_underwater_world.html

(8) Scientific American article on 10 shining examples of bioluminescent creatures

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bioluminescent-avatar