By Categories: Editorials, Science
As the old saying goes, mother knows best. Many scientists, however, would argue that Mother Nature knows best. 
 
Increasingly, researchers are turning to nature for inspiration and innovative solutions to human problems. From “green” cement to sustainable architecture to self-cleaning paint products, scientists and inventors are tapping into the power of this new field—biomimicry—to help them design more effective products. 
 
Although there are many ways in which nature has inspired innovation, a hot topic among scientists studying biomimicry is bioluminescence, or the production of light by living organisms.
Studying species ranging from deep-ocean dwellers—including fish, bacteria, and jellies—to fireflies, researchers are examining bioluminescent properties with an eye toward their potential human uses. While researchers are confident they understand the science of bioluminescence in nature, taking that property out of its biological environment and repurposing it for the human world has proven tricky. 
 
“Evolution does a very good job of designing things to do what it wants them to do,” says Theo Sanderson, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom. 
 
The difficulty is in adapting these properties for new uses.
“We have a light-emitting system that is very good at functioning in the context of a bacterium and to emit the amount of light a bacterium needs to emit. When you transfer that over to other systems, there will be quite different biochemistry.”
 
Sanderson’s experience with bioluminescence and biomimicry dates to 2010, when he and his colleagues at Cambridge University entered the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition.
 
“We imagined that perhaps in the future, rather than erecting streetlights, people might be able to plant glowing trees,” he says.
 
To explore this idea, the team did some genetic modification. They took part of the DNA sequence of Aliivibrio fischeri, a bioluminescent bacterium that lives in symbiosis with squid, and inserted it into Escherichia coli, allowing E.coli to give off light. The project was cleverly dubbed “E. glowli.”
 
Though the Cambridge team ultimately wasn’t able to produce bioluminescent trees, the “BioBrick” they did produce was later used by researchers at Peking University as part of the 2011 iGEM. The Peking researchers used the BioBrick to allow bacteria in different flasks to communicate by sending light signals. 
 
Other researchers are exploring different potential applications for bioluminescence.
Mathew Maye, a chemist at Syracuse University, works with an interdisciplinary team to explore bioluminescent properties at the nanoscale. Simply put, Maye’s team wants to “use biology for non-biological purposes.”
 
 
Maye and his team use luciferase—an enzymefirst identified in fireflies—to carry out their experiments. When luciferase interacts with luciferin, a related compound, the chemical reaction produces light. 
 
Maye’s team is exploring applications that include identifying the presence of certain toxins within a system and lighting extremely small spaces. Currently, the team is trying to “completely understand the process and to judge the complete brightness of the system.”
 
Recyclable Luminescence
 
One issue that both Maye and Sanderson have confronted is how to make the light system self-sustaining. As Sanderson says, “We don’t know how to make the fuel that the luciferase runs on [luciferin], and that means that it’s expensive to work with because you have to add that fuel.” 
 
Until researchers find a way to make the system “recyclable,” we may not see bioluminescent technology used to light our streets. 
 
Serious breakthroughs, however, may be around the corner. 
 
“We’re continually finding new, interesting scientific discoveries . . . that will help us to design the next generation,” says Maye. “. . . I would say that there will be some type of bioluminescent lighting within the next five to ten years. Especially if you can make it somehow replenishable or recyclable.”
 
The iGEM competition, which launched Sanderson into the field of biomimicry, is held annually and supported by partners like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and software giant Autodesk. Maye’s research is funded in part by the Air Force and the Department of Defense. With the wide variety of potential applications for this technology, it’s no wonder both publicand private industry are lining up to find out how they can take advantage of this emerging knowledge.
 
Beyond the many practical applications of bioluminescent technology, biomimicry has captured researchers’ attention based on something far more fundamental: human curiosity. 
 
As Sanderson says, “When you see what nature can achieve and the amazing diversity of things it can do—emitting light, producing incredibly strong substances—if you imagine what mankind could do if it could harness that power, it’s an exciting area to work in.”
Share is Caring, Choose Your Platform!

Receive Daily Updates

Stay updated with current events, tests, material and UPSC related news

Recent Posts

  • Science
    [Science] 5G-All that you need to know
  • FP & IR
    [IR] OPEC vs USA, India, UK, China, Japan & South Korea
  • Agriculture
    [Agriculture] Food Scarcity-Lessons from Sri Lanka and the Organic Mania
  • Economy
    [Economy] Not V-Shaped but K-Shpaed recovery on the horizon.
  • Announcements
    WAR-2022(Write-a-Rank 2022) Mains Test Question Paper-MWAR04 (Week-04)

    • In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).


    States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.

    In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.

    The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.

    At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.

    This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance

    The Equity Principle

    The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.

    This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.

    Growth and its Discontents

    Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.

    The Pursuit Of Sustainability

    The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.

     

    The Curious Case Of The Delta

    The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.

    Key Findings:-

    1. In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
    2. In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
    3. In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
    4. Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.

    In the Scheme of Things

    The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.

    The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).

    National Health Mission (NHM)

    • In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
    • In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.

     

    INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)

    • Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
    • Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

     

    MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)

    • Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
    • Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers

     

    SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)

    • West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
    • In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three

     

    MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)

    • Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
    • In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam

     

  • Society
    [Society] Quota without data
  • Environment
    COP 26 and India’s Climate pledge
  • Announcements
    WAR-2022(Write-a-Rank 2022) Mains Test Question Paper-MWAR02 (Week-03)