Why do jellyfish glow? How do fireflies light up the night? And what exactly is happening at the molecular level when organisms make their own light?

In this episode of Lauren and PJ Do Science, we kick off our glow-up era with Part 1 of a deep dive into bioluminescence — the chemistry, biology, and evolutionary “why” behind one of nature’s coolest party tricks. We talk about luciferins, luciferase, energy transfer, and why glowing can be a survival strategy rather than just a flex. We also discover that Lauren may or may not have a slight obsession with Nicolas Cage.

This is the first half of our bioluminescence series, setting the stage for how light-producing biology shows up in the ocean, on land, and in modern science and medicine.

✨ Bonus: Check out the companion playlist for this episode — songs that glow, shimmer, and scientifically radiate the right vibe while you listen or study.
🎧 Companion Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/03GHaqZRuSwXf4AgvZwghM?si=2lKDSdqPSgu_tKb0VHJJAA

#Bioluminescence#SciencePodcast

#Biology

#STEM

#ScienceExplained

In this episode Lauren talks about the American Geophysical Union conference held down in New Orleans.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts. For more information, visit ⁠https://www.agu.org/

Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe so you can be notified of new episodes!

In this most righteous episode, Lauren and PJ get severely sidetracked, PJ shares his desire to be one of the X-Men, Star Wars is or is not a documentary... oh and they also talk more about mRNA and its applications (once they finally focus).

Lauren tells us about a great piece by hbomber guy about vaccines and austim on YouTube https://youtu.be/8BIcAZxFfrc?si=U3eB_r2q5LmuGSMi (Spotify link below as well)

PJ also premiers the song he wrote called "Everybody Wants to Code the Gene"

Don't forget to subscribe and comment! We're starting a listener mailbag so if you've got questions about the episode, send them along in the comment section or laurenandpjdoscience@gmail.com and maybe we'll answer yours on air!