A team of scientists are looking into ways in which fungi could provide the world with an alternative light source.

Researchers from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology in St Gallen, Switzerland, have been working with bioluminescent fungi to produce a more cost-effective, sustainable and environmental way to produce light.

The team managed to successful insert a white rot fungus into balsa wood to make it glow. Also known as ‘fox fire’, bioluminescence is a familiar sight in decaying wood in nature but this is the first time it has been used as a potential alternative to normal light sources.

It is a bid to reduce demand on fossil fuels and although it is in its very early stages, scientists involve are confident it will one day be used an alternative light source in homes and communities as well as medical imaging.

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Dr Hugh Morris from SRUC, one of the team of scientists working on the project led by Empa’s Professor Dr Francis Schwarze, said: “With global concerns about the climate emergency and the urgency to reach net zero emissions, new technologies are critical in our race to protect the planet from overheating.

“Although in its very early stages, this research represents an exciting glimpse of an alternative light source.”