Scientists Confirm that Humans Emit a Certain Light that Disappears the Moment Their Life Ends

Scientists have just found out that humans, along with all other living creatures like plants and animals, emit a faint light which disappears the moment their life ends. From this statement, it almost feels like the scientists are pertaining to the souls of living organisms, or their aura. However, there is actually a scientific explanation for what this glow is and why it only vanishes when we die.

Living Creatures Give Off a Faint Glow

Scientists from the University of Calgary have announced that they have captured ultraweak photons, which pertain to light particles that are visible, coming from mice. They used a camera capable of seeing these tiny visible light in complete darkness as they observed the mice before, during, and after they died.

They have also confirmed that humans and plants also exhibit the same glow. The light comes from the chemical reactions in our cells that are triggered by normal processes or when they are stressed. Similarly, when a plant’s leaves are injured, it emits even more light, and the faint glow vanishes right after it dies.

Read more: Science Alert

Why We Believe It’s Real Light

Wow! Living Beings Emit Faint Light That Disappears Upon Death

Several researchers and studies have all agreed that this light is real and is not from unscientific sources. One of the experiments done includes keeping the bodies at the right temperature to rule out any heat-related effects. The same light was still seen and observed, and the glow stops immediately after death.

Biophotons are photons generated by living and biological systems, such as humans, animals, and plants. These ultraweak photon emissions (UPE), the faint light that the scientists have observed, are examples of biophotons. They are the light emitted from the cells during their normal activities, and could be heightened because of stressful events.

What this means is that this light is not from any other sources of heat or surrounding light, but instead is entirely tied to life and cellular activities of living organisms.

What This Glow Might Indicate

Glowing cells and tissues could actually mean different things, as scientists know that the more a cell is damaged or injured, the more it glows. However, it could also confirm that the specific cell or tissue is still alive, as the light can only be seen from living organisms’ natural processes.

Some of its applications can be tricky, but as our understandings evolve, it might be used in the field of medicine and diagnostics, where doctors could specifically observe this light coming from individual cells to check for damage without any invasive and harmful tests.

Since these biophotons are also seen in animals and plants, their applications also range from farming to agriculture. Soon, they might be able to check these animals and plants by watching the light they emit from a monitor. It sounds futuristic, but it might happen sooner than later.

Read more: Phys.org

Science vs Mysticism

This light was actually thought to be the soul, an aura, or life energy. In a way, you could call it that, after all, they only exist in living, breathing organisms and quickly fade away after their life ends. However, scientists now have a clear physical explanation that is based on chemistry and cell activity.

The glow that we, animals and plants, have disappears after death, not because all our souls leave the body, but because the chemical reactions powering the light emission completely stop. By understanding this phenomenon, we could apply it to our daily lives and make them better by building tools and knowledge, and not myths.

Why Human Body Emits Light That Disappear Upon Death

Author's Final Thoughts

Every living creature, whether it is humans, animals, or plants, emits a faint light that is invisible to the human eye, but with the help of the right equipment, they can be observed. This glow stops almost instantly when life ends. However, the glow comes from natural cell processes, and instead of mystifying this knowledge, we should be applying it to our different fields of knowledge. It might just help us break through the problems that we have not been able to solve yet as a species.

Read more: Scientists Say Lobsters Don’t Die of Old Age and Continue Growing Their Entire Lives — But Here’s What Eventually Kills Them

References & Further Reading

Salari, V., et al. (2025). Imaging ultraweak photon emission from living and dead mice and from plants under stress. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546

Kobayashi, M., Kikuchi, D., & Okamura, H. (2009). Imaging of ultraweak spontaneous photon emission from human body displaying diurnal rhythm. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006256

Cifra, M., & Pospíšil, P. (2014). Ultra-weak photon emission from biological samples: Definition, mechanisms, properties, detection and applications. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24726298/

Ives, J. A., et al. (2014). Ultraweak photon emission as a non-invasive health assessment: A systematic review. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087401

Zapata, F., et al. (2021). Human ultra-weak photon emission as a non-invasive spectroscopic tool for diagnosis of internal states—A review. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33540236/