Resurrecting the ancient glow

The colour of firefly bioluminescence is primarily determined by the structure of the enzyme luciferase1. To date, firefly luciferase genes have been isolated from over 30 extant species producing light ranging in colour from deep-green to orange-yellow. We have reconstructed ancestral firefly luciferase genes and characterised the enzymatic properties of the recombinant proteins in order to predict ancestral firefly light emission. Results showed that the synthetic luciferase for the last common firefly ancestor exhibited green light. All known firefly species are bioluminescent in the larval stages2, with a common shared ancestor arising approximately 100 Mya3. Combined, our findings propose within the Cretaceous forest the common ancestor of contemporary fireflies emitted green light, most likely for aposematic display from nocturnal predation.

REDUCTION OF ACTIVE POWER LOSS BY IMPROVED INTELLIGENT WATER DROP ALGORITHM

In this paper, Improved Intelligent Water Drop (IIW) algorithm has been proposed to solve the optimal reactive power problem. In this work firefly and water drop algorithm has been combined to improve the exploration & exploitation. Fire fly algorithm imitates the firefly light flashing behaviour is an astonishing signal in the sky, usually found in tropical and temperate regions. Water drop algorithm contains a few necessary elements of natural water drops and action and reaction that occur between river bed & the water drops that flow within. Proposed Improved Intelligent Water Drop (IIW) algorithm has been tested in Standard IEEE 57,118 bus systems & real power loss has been comparatively reduced with voltage profiles are within the limits.