Glow-in-the-Dark Trees

Hoping to give new meaning to the term “natural light,” a small group of biotechnology hobbyists and entrepreneurs has started a project to develop plants that glow, potentially leading the way for trees that can replace electric streetlamps and potted flowers luminous enough to read by.

WHAT. It also has a Kickstarter (“inspired by fireflies and aquatic bioluminescence”!), through which they’ve already raised more than 400% of their goal money. But then it gets a little freaky (“widespread random and nation-wide release of synthetic organisms,” plus — why not — the etymologies of luciferase and luciferin, although I guess that’s light in general), and then there’s the Cillian Murphy-esque guy behind the project (and is he good Cillian or bad Cillian?), but also does it matter because they want to make a glowing rose. A glowing rose! A GLOWING ROSE! A glowing rose. The beginning of the end. The end of the beginning. A glowing rose is a glowing rose is a glowing rose. Very Beauty and the Beast.