How an enzyme in fireflies, click beetles and glow worms yields different colors

The glow of fireflies at dusk is a welcome sign of summer. The same enzyme that helps give these familiar bugs their characteristic flash of yellow, yields red light in acidic conditions. Similar enzymes are responsible for red and green lights in other beetles. Despite years of study, however, scientists still don't know the molecular details of how the enzyme works. Now, in the ACS journal Biochemistry, one team reports new insights into this mystery.

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