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Seliger, as part of a team of Johns
Hopkins scientists, studied more than 100 different species of fireflies in Maryland and on the island of Jamaica. He built an instrument, called by him a "firefly gun," which his team used in making the first measurements of the specific flash patterns of various
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In the work for which he is perhaps best known, Seliger's firefly research helped other scientists harness bioluminescent molecules to identify key sections of DNA for genetic studies. And he used such fluorescent molecules to probe carcinogenic compounds in cigarette smoke. He also was able to see
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firefly species in their natural habitat. Their research "showed that the species-specific colors of the bioluminescence of fireflies represented natural selection for the optimization of the ratio of light signals to interfering ambient light intensities (noise) at the times of their emergence."
66:. Seliger used his measurement techniques for photon scintillation to make the first measurement of the quantum yield of the firefly light reaction. This was the beginning of his outstanding achievements in the study of bioluminescence in fireflies, bacteria,
54:. He graduated there with Ph.D. in 1954. At the NBS he developed a highly sensitive method of measurement of photons produced by radioactive emissions. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1958. With the aid of a recommendation by
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White, Emil H.; Rapaport, Eliezer; Seliger, Howard H.; Hopkins, Thomas A. (1971). "The chemi- and bioluminescence of firefly luciferin: An efficient chemical production of electronically excited states".
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in 1980–1981. Until he was 75 years old, he taught and did research at Johns
Hopkins University. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1997.
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He was married for 69 years to the former
Beatrice Semel (born in 1926). Upon his death at the age of 88, he was survived by his widow, two daughters, two grandsons, and a great-grandson.
528:
224:
McElroy, W. D.; Seliger, H. H.; White, E. H. (1969). "Mechanism of
Bioluminescence, Chemi-Luminescence and Enzyme Function in the Oxidation of Firefly Luciferin".
58:, Seliger became a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic year 1958–1959, which he spent in the biology department of Johns Hopkins University. There he worked with
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which potentially carcinogenic compounds became most dangerous by measuring the low-intensity light produced as the compounds react with enzymes inside cells.
314:"Annual subsurface transport of a red tide dinoflagellate to its bloom area: Water circulation patterns and organism distributions in the Chesapeake Bay 1"
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Wood, K.; Lam, Y.; Seliger, H.; McElroy, W. (1989). "Complementary DNA coding click beetle luciferases can elicit bioluminescence of different colors".
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483:"Scientist Is Always Chasing Fireflies. Spotlight: Bioluminescence expertise brings Howard Seliger recognition for his lifetime work"
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22:(4 December 1924, New York City – 20 December 2012) was a physicist, biochemist, and biology professor, known for his research on
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Lee, J.; Seliger, H. H. (1972). "Quantum Yields of the
Luminol Chemiluminescence Reaction in Aqueous and Aprotic Solvents".
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and graduated there with M.S. in 1948. From 1948 to 1958 he was a senior physicist in the
Radioactivity Division of the
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Seliger, H.H; Boggs, J.A; Biggley, W.H (1985). "Catastrophic Anoxia in the
Chesapeake Bay in 1984".
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in 1943). After serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1943 to 1946, he studied physics at
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Proceedings of the
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Seliger, H.H. (1956). "The applications of standards of radioactivity".
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Fellows of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
140:"Spectral emission and quantum yield of firefly bioluminescence"
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Seliger, Howard H.; McElroy, William D. (22 October 2013).
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511:"Obituary. Howard H. Seliger, Hopkins biology professor"
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American Association for the Advancement of Science
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312:Tyler, Mary Altalo; Seliger, H. H. (1978).
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171:Seliger, H. H.; McElroy, W. D. (1964).
144:Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
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62:, who had recently isolated the enzyme
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431:Light: Physical and Biological Action
138:Seliger, H.H.; McElroy, W.D. (1960).
636:University System of Maryland alumni
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487:Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition
509:Kelly, Jacques (26 December 2012).
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621:Townsend Harris High School alumni
297:10.1111/j.1751-1097.1972.tb06241.x
238:10.1111/j.1751-1097.1969.tb05676.x
16:American bioluminescence scientist
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481:Venere, Emil (January 12, 1998).
89:American Society for Photobiology
87:Seliger was the president of the
641:Johns Hopkins University faculty
616:21st-century American biologists
611:20th-century American biologists
606:21st-century American physicists
601:20th-century American physicists
626:City College of New York alumni
285:Photochemistry and Photobiology
226:Photochemistry and Photobiology
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276:10.1016/0045-2068(71)90009-5
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454:: CS1 maint: postscript (
318:Limnology and Oceanography
533:American Physical Society
339:10.4319/lo.1978.23.2.0227
631:Purdue University alumni
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40:City College of New York
406:10.1126/science.2655091
34:Seliger graduated from
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52:University of Maryland
98:Selected publications
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38:in 1939 and from the
20:Howard Harold Seliger
264:Bioorganic Chemistry
198:10.1073/pnas.52.1.75
550:"Howard H. Seliger"
398:1989Sci...244..700W
361:1985Sci...228...70S
330:1978LimOc..23..227T
189:1964PNAS...52...75S
568:"Historic Fellows"
434:. Academic Press.
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515:The Baltimore Sun
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150:: 136–141.
72:ctenophores
56:W. F. Libby
585:Categories
464:References
64:luciferase
450:cite book
30:Biography
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305:97380031
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