"You’ll be happy to hear that no hamsters were harmed in the creation of Laarman’s lamp – the cells come from a culture of tissue that has been kept alive since 1957 (creepy). In the 1990’s the cells were enriched with a gene derived from fireflies that makes them glow in the dark in the presence of luciferin. According to Laarman, “the development of bioluminescence systems in living organisms occurred naturally about 20 or 30 times in evolution. Well known examples of bioluminescence are found in bacteria, fire flies, and jelly fish.”" - Kurt Starnes