How to Use luciferase in a Sentence
luciferase
noun-
And how did this whole luciferase in Covid-19 vaccines claim even get started?
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
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For the creation researchers used luciferase, the same enzyme that gives fireflies their glow.
—Emily Price, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2017
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That claim has been debunked: The Covid-19 vaccines do not contain luciferase.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 10 Nov. 2021
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One type of cell in the gland secretes a luciferase enzyme, while a second type of cell secretes the substrate vargulin.
—Quanta Magazine, 16 Aug. 2021
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The type of luciferase enzyme found in the fireworm were brand new: they have never been detected in any other species.
—Laura Yan, Popular Mechanics, 11 Aug. 2018
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Frank Swain writes about glowing trees, engineered with a gene called luciferase.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 27 Nov. 2010
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The firefly gene that codes for luciferase is very similar to a common fatty acid-making gene, Lewis says.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 2 July 2016
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The firefly gene that codes for luciferase is very similar to a common fatty acid-making gene, Lewis says.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 2 July 2016
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Its enzyme luciferase acts upon a compound called luciferin to emit light, much as fireflies do.
—Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 29 Oct. 2020
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The light is produced inside the tiny dinoflagellates body thanks to two chemicals: the enzyme luciferase and the compound luciferin.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2020
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Arayomi also questioned the name of an enzyme used in the research process, luciferase, due to his religious studies and the history of the name Lucifer.
—Brooklyn White, Essence, 4 Dec. 2020
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To turn leaves into a light source, Strano uses luciferase, the enzyme responsible for a firefly’s glow.
—Mark Ellwood, WSJ, 15 May 2018
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Scientists have tried to re-create the effect in plants before: In the 1980s, researchers added a firefly’s luciferase gene into tobacco plant cells.
—Leah Shaffer, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2015
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Presumably the first luciferin-luciferase pair would have survived and multiplied.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Dec. 2016
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Wright was open to dialogue about her stance, and noted that people have a right to question what goes into their bodies and also expressed concerns about the enzyme luciferase.
—Brooklyn White, Essence, 4 Dec. 2020
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The pseudoviruses also contain an enzyme called luciferase, which is what makes fireflies glow, and which helps researchers track the antibodies’ effects on the pseudovirus.
—Peter Loftus, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2021
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In fireflies, luciferase binds to another chemical called luciferin, which causes a reaction that emits light.
—Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 14 Dec. 2017
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So do Covid-19 vaccines have either luciferase or luciferins as Robinson suggested?
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
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Similarly, luciferase enzymes have very little to do with Lucifer.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
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The 2017 plant used a combination of the bioluminescent particles luciferin and luciferase, which also help to power the sporadic light that fireflies produce.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 11 Oct. 2021
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The fireflies were then ground up for its enzymes luciferin and luciferase, which give it its bioluminescent capabilities.
—Dan Radel, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2019
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Three chemicals -- luciferase, luciferin and ATP -- combine to produce the firefly's characteristic glow.
—Karen Farkas, cleveland.com, 24 July 2017
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Every organism has its own version of luciferin and luciferase, with individual properties that could prove useful.
—Joanna Klein, The Seattle Times, 4 May 2017
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The mentality that fed the luciferase tweet, however, remains accessible.
—Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2021
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In 1986, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, modified and inserted the firefly luciferase gene into a tobacco plant.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Dec. 2016
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While the mushrooms normally appear green, the researchers could produce different colors by reacting different compounds with luciferase.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2017
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Like many bioluminescent animals their light is created by a reaction between the light-emitting molecule luciferin and the enzyme luciferase.
—National Geographic, 30 June 2018
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The team engineered this regulator to control the third and final part of the genetic circuit, which is a set of genes that encodes a luminescence system—resulting in a bioluminescent enzyme called luciferase—from Photorhabdus luminescens.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 25 May 2018
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In all bioluminescent organisms, a small molecule called luciferin interacts with oxygen and a bigger protein called luciferase, creating chemical energy that is eventually released in the form of cold light.
—Joanna Klein, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2017
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Inside certain cells of bioluminescent organisms an enzyme called luciferase catalyzes a light-producing reaction between a pigment called luciferin and oxygen.
—Ferris Jabr, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2010
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'luciferase.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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