Living Things Emit A 'Ghostly Glow' That Vanishes When We Die, Scientists Claim

Living things emit a faint ghostly glow throughout their lives that only vanishes when they die, a new study has claimed. For a long time, mystics and spiritualists have claimed to see this mysterious light emanating from living creatures, but it is perhaps the first time that science may have an answer to the existence of this glow.

Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada stated that the faint glow was associated with a phenomenon called ultraweak photon emission (UPE) that is produced by several living animals in strong contrast with their non-living bodies.

Since living organisms need energy to stay alive, they all consume food. In the cells of these organisms, a structure called mitochondria is the site where sugars are burned with oxygen in a process called "oxidative metabolism".

During these reactions, molecules gain and lose energy, letting off a few photons. The light is also produced when living cells are troubled by stresses such as heat, poisons, pathogens, or lack of nutrients. Even though many scientists believe this light must exist, it has proven extremely hard to detect.

However, to test the hypothesis, lead author Dr Daniel Oblak and his team experimented on mice and a handful of plant leaves, using specialised cameras in an attempt to detect the individual photons.

In the first image, where the mouse was alive, photons could be seen rising from its body, which were noticeably absent in the second picture when the rodent had died.

"While the live mice emit robust UPE, likely indicative of ongoing biological processes and cellular activity, the dead mice's UPE emission is nearly extinguished," the study, published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, highlighted.

Photo Credit: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

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As for the leaves, scientists found that they continued to glow after being cut from the tree, and the glow became brighter when the injuries activated the plant's repair systems.

"This really shows that this is not just an imperfection or caused by other biological processes. It's really something that comes from all living things," Dr Oblak told New Scientist.

Scientists are of the view that UPE could have benefits in medical examinations. The faintest of ethereal glows produced by stressed cells might help doctors understand the areas of damaged tissues. By analysing which tissues are producing too much or too little light, someone's health could be monitored in a non-invasive way.