Eyes opened or closed, it's all the same because the sun never shines there.

開眼或閉眼也沒有差別，因為陽光根本照不到這裡。

Up ahead, you see a light.

抬頭一看，你看見一道光芒。

When you creep into investigate, a blue light flits around you.

在游去一探究竟後，你發現一抹藍光在眼前漂蕩。

"I could watch this forever," you think.

「我可以一直盯著它看下去。」你如此心想。

But you can't because the mouth of an anglerfish has just sprung open and eaten you alive.

但實際上你做不到，因為一隻鮟鱇魚正張開大嘴，準備把你活生生一口吞下。

You are just one of many creatures at the bottom of the ocean who learn too late to appreciate the power of bioluminescence.

你只是又一隻太晚意識到生物螢光力量的海底生物。

Bioluminescence refers to the ability of certain living things to create light.

生物螢光是指特定生物體產生光的能力。

The human body can make stuff like ear wax and toe nails, but these organisms can turn parts of their body into glow sticks.

人體可以製造出耳垢和腳指甲之類的產物，但這些生物可以將身體的一部份變成螢光棒。

It's like nature made them ready to rave.

彷彿大自然賦予牠們在派對中狂歡的能力一般。

Why?

為什麼？

In one way or another, bioluminescence improves a living thing's chances of survival.

生物螢光在某種程度上增加了生物個體的存活機會。

Take the firefly. Its ability to glow green helps it attract a mate on a warm, summer night.

以螢火蟲為例，它們發出綠色螢光的能力幫助了牠們在溫暖的夏夜中吸引伴侶。

But it's just one of many living things that can glow.

但牠們只是諸多發光生物的一員而已。

The railroad worm, Phrixothrix hirtus, can light up its body in two colors: red and green.

鐵道蟲 (phrixothrix hirtus) 可以讓身體發出紅色和綠色的兩色螢光。

Would you eat something that looks like an airport runway?

你會想吃這種像是機場跑道的東西嗎？

Neither would any sensible predator.

其它腦袋正常的掠食者也不會。

The flashing lights keep the worm safe.

螢光讓毛毛蟲存活了下來。

Then there's the deep sea shrimp, Acantherphyra purpurea.

還有一種深海蝦，學名為 Acanthephyra purpurea。

When it feels threatened, it spews a cloud of glowing goo from its mouth.

當牠們面臨威脅時會從口中噴出螢光液體。

Who doesn't run the other way when they've just been puked on?

誰被這種東西噴到不會想要逃走呢？

Plus, that puke attracts bigger predators who want to eat the shrimp's enemy.

另外，螢光還會吸引其它想吃蝦子天敵的更大型掠食者。

So what if you can't bioluminesce? No problem!

那如果本身不能發光怎麼辦？沒關係！

There are other ways for living things to make bioluminescence work for them, even if they weren't born with the equipment to glow.

即使沒有與生俱來的發光工具，還是有其它方式可以利用生物螢光。

Let's revisit the anglerfish moments before it tried to eat you.

讓我們在鮟鱇魚想把你吞下肚之前，再次看看牠。

That glowing bait on top of its head?

牠頭上吊著的發光餌？

It comes from a pocket of skin called the esca.

這是由一層皮包覆，被稱為餌球的東西。

The esca holds bioluminescent bacteria.

裡面裝著可以發螢光的細菌。

The anglerfish can't glow there by itself, so it holds a sack of glowing bacteria instead.

鮟鱇魚自己不能發光，因此牠們便帶著一袋螢光細菌。

Remember the firefly?

還記得螢火蟲嗎？

It can actually make itself glow.

牠們是真的會自己發光。

Inside its lantern are two chemicals, a luciferin and a luciferase.

在牠們的小燈籠中有螢光素和螢光酶兩種化學物質。

When firefly luciferase and luciferin mix together in the presence of oxygen and fuel for the cell, called ATP, the chemical reaction gives off energy in the form of light.

當兩者在具有氧氣與腺苷三磷酸 (ATP) 的環境中混合後，便會產生化學反應並以螢光的形式釋放出能量。

Once scientists figured out how the firefly creates its luciferase and luciferin, they used genetic engineering to make this light-producing reaction occur inside other living things that can't glow.

在科學家發現螢火蟲製造螢光素和螢光酶的祕密後，他們使用了基因工程技術，讓原本不能發光的生物體也能發光。

For example, they inserted the genes, or instructions, for a cell to create firefly luciferase and luciferin into a tobacco plant.

例如：將細胞製造螢光素和螢光酶的基因，也可說是如何製造的指示，送到了煙草中。

Once there, the tobacco plant followed the instructions slipped into its DNA and lit up like a Christmas tree.

在成功後，煙草就會依據這些融入道 DNA 上的基因所載的訊息，把自己點亮成一株聖誕樹。

The beauty of bioluminescence, unlike the light from the sun or an incandescent bulb, is that it's not hot.

生物螢光的美在於，不同於日光或燈泡，生物螢光並不會產熱。

It takes place in a range of temperatures that don't burn a living thing.

它能在生物能忍受的溫度範圍下作用，而且不會燒死任何生物。

And unlike a glow stick, which fades out as the chemicals inside get used up, bioluminescent reactions use replenishable resources.

而且不像螢光棒會因為裡面螢光物質用盡而變暗，生物螢光只需要利用再生資源即可發光。

That's one reason engineers are trying to develop bioluminescent trees.

這是工程師們正嘗試著研發出生物發光樹木的原因之一。

Just think, if planted on the side of highways, they could light the way, using only oxygen and other freely available, clean resources to run.

試想：若將這螢光樹在高速公路旁，便只需要利用氧氣與其他免費且乾淨的資源即可照亮整條道路。

Talk about survival advantage!

這不正是生存優勢的展現嗎！

That could help our planet live longer.

這能幫助我們讓地球更長久地永續經營下去。

Do you find yourself thinking of other ways to put bioluminescence to good use?

你有想到其它運用生物螢光的用法嗎？

That glow stick you swing at a rave may help you find a mate, but how else can bioluminescence improve your survival?

手上的螢光棒或許可以幫助你在舞會中找到伴侶，但是生物螢光如何增加你的生存能力？

If you start thinking in this way, you have seen the light.

如果你能開始如此思考，你便已經看到創意的火花。