SINGAPORE MOLECULAR GENETICIST CHIA TET FATT POSES WITH HIS LUMINESCENT ORCHIDS IN A TIMED ...,...

SINGAPORE MOLECULAR GENETICIST CHIA TET FATT POSES WITH HIS LUMINESCENT ORCHIDS IN A TIMED MULTIPLE EXPOSURE. Singapore molecular geneticist Chia Tet Fatt poses with his glow-in-the-dark orchids in this timed multiple exposure. Chia produced the world's first bioluminescent orchids in December 1999 after years of efforts to insert the firefly gene which produces luciferase, its bioluminescent substance, into orchid cells. Chia, who teaches and conducts research at the city-state's National Institute of Education, is using the firefly's gene as a "messenger" which can be attached to other genes to track their location in an organism. This photograph comprises two exposures; the first exposure was 20 hours long to record the glowing orchid from March 28 to March 29, 2001; and the second exposure used a strobe to record Chia.