light effectively enough to make the scales appear invisible from the side. Counterillumination, a tactic used more by deep-sea dwellers, uses a luminous organ located in the bottom of the body to emit light in order to appear brighter from underneath. At this angle, the light emitted is at an intensity meant to replicate the sunlight as it appears on the surface of the water. Thus, from below the creature is essentially invisible to many predators. Within the luminous organ is a laminar structure of photocytes and nerve branches, with relatively small gap junctions between them. It is thought that the vast interconnectivity and the layered structure of these neuro-photocyte units is what allows a deep-sea fish to rapidly respond to a situation with spontaneous luminescence. Because all of the nerves are directly connected to the spinal cord (and by extension, the brain), researchers believe that electronic signals can trigger these photocytes to react. With this line of thinking, scientists are working to develop technology using this type of neuro-photocyte unit. These biologically inspired materials can be applied in many different circumstances. This technology can be used to camouflage objects, create a device that can mold its shape yet still retain its desired properties, or even help people in relation to biomedical applications. A coating of this technology can help incorporate a foreign body into a living ecosystem, i.e. a human body. The technology of this device allows a person's antibodies to detect the new object as a non-threat, thus permitting easier acceptance of manmade tools into the body, such as a cardiac pacing device to the chest. References Bioinspiration Photonics