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Changes in the bioluminescence of firefly under pulsed and static magnetic fields

2011; American Institute of Physics; Volume: 109; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1063/1.3556949

1520-8850

Masakazu Iwasaka, Yuito Miyashita, Anurup Gohain Barua, Satoru Kurita, N. Owada,

Biofield Effects and Biophysics

The effects of a pulsed train magnetic field (PMF) and 10-T order of static magnetic fields on firefly bioluminescence were investigated on two species, Luciola cruciata and Luciola lateralis. Strong static magnetic field exposure experiments were carried out with a time-resolved spectroscopy, and the firefly bioluminescence spectrum showed a redshift in the range of 540–580nm when the firefly emitted pulses under the 10-T magnetic field. Separately from this effect, a transient decrease in the firefly’s emission intensity was observed right after being exposed to the static magnetic fields of up to 10 T. On the other hand, the utilized PMFs stimulated and enhanced the bioluminescence of Luciola cruciata. The PMF with 250–325 T/s at 1.3–10 Hz increased both the firefly’s pulsed density and frequency. It was speculated that the magnetically induced current inside the firefly affected its nervous system or the photochemical processes in the light producing organ, while the diamagnetic torque forces, which were induced by the 10 T order of the static field, had an inhibitory effect on the bioluminescence system.