Ongoing Research & Imagining Luminous Futures

Imagine that instead of switching on a lamp when it gets dark, you could read by the light of a glowing plant on your desk. A team of scientists at MIT has found a way to give plants the ability to produce light. Current research is progressing along these lines to make bioluminescent and non-electric lighting possible. This could potentially lend a whole new meaning to the term “green energy.”

Though the research is preliminary, the researchers believe that bioluminescent plants may someday light our streets, parks, and even our homes. MIT engineers have taken a critical first step toward making that vision a reality. By embedding specialized nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, they induced the plants to give off dim light for nearly four hours. They believe that, with further optimization, such plants will one day be bright enough to illuminate a workspace.

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