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The mysterious “Angel’s Glow” is a fascinating phenomenon that occurred after the Civil War battle of Shiloh, where 16,000 injured soldiers lay on the battlefield, many suffering from infection. Some of these wounded soldiers noticed an eerie blue light emanating from their wounds at night. Field surgeons soon realized that those with glowing wounds healed faster and had a higher chance of survival. Dubbed “Angel’s Glow,” the phenomenon was believed to be divine intervention, but it remained a mystery for almost 140 years.
In this video, we explore the incredible scientific explanation for the “Angel’s Glow,” discovered by a 17-year-old student named William Martin. Martin, along with his friend Jonathan Curtis, uncovered that tiny nematodes living in the soil were responsible for this healing glow. These nematodes carried luminous bacteria called Photorhabdus luminescens, which produced antibiotics that fought off infections, effectively saving the lives of many soldiers. The video also delves into the complex relationship between plants, bacteria, and nematodes, revealing how soil ecosystems mirror the gut bacteria in humans.
As we uncover this remarkable connection, viewers will learn about the intricate communication between plants and soil organisms and how these interactions have life-saving implications. From bacterial communities in the soil to the fascinating way plants “talk” to their surroundings, the video sheds light on the hidden complexities of nature and its ability to heal.
Discover the surprising truth behind the Angel’s Glow, and how this incredible natural process saved lives and demonstrated the unseen power of soil ecosystems. This story is not only a testament to the resilience of nature but also a reminder of the untapped potential that lies beneath our feet.
After the Civil War battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in 1862, 16,000 injured soldiers were strewn across the battlefield. So great were their numbers that neither army was able to retrieve and treat them quickly. Thousands were left lying in the mud, in some cases for two days and two nights. Many died from their wounds and the consequent infections.
But at night, some of the injured men noticed a strange blue glow emanating from their wounds. The light could be seen from a distance. Field surgeons observed that the soldiers whose wounds emitted this blue light healed more quickly and had a higher rate of survival than those who didn’t. They called it the Angel’s Glow.
What was it? At the time, people believed it was divine intervention: these men must have been touched by the healing hands of angels. It took almost 140 years for a scientific explanation to emerge.
A 17-year-old high school student called William Martin, acting on a hunch, persuaded his friend Jonathan Curtis to help him investigate. Their paper, which won a national science prize, argued that the soldiers had been saved by nematodes. Nematodes are tiny white worms, invisible to the naked eye, that live in the soil. But how could they have saved the lives of the soldiers lying in the mud at Shiloh?
To see what might have happened, first we need to understand something that at first sight seems just as miraculous. Plants can talk. In fact, their survival depends on talking. Talking to other creatures in the soil. Plants talk with chemicals. They use extremely complex chemical compounds to communicate with other species. Mostly, they talk to bacteria.
Soil is full of bacteria. In fact, to a large extent, soil is built by bacteria. They use glue made from carbon to stick together tiny particles, building the catacombs that trap air and water. These structures then become the building blocks for bigger labyrinths, created by the animals that also live in the ground. Soil, that we once saw as nothing but a lumpen mass, turns out to be a biological structure, like a wasps’ nest or a beaver’s dam, but much more complex.
Most bacteria, most of the time, exist in limbo. But when a plant root pushes into a lump of soil, it starts to talk to them. It sends the chemical signals that release them from their torpor. The plant doesn’t want to wake up all the bacteria in the soil. Some of them will harm it. So it speaks a language that can be heard only by its friends. A language that’s specific and precise. The plant’s chemical messages trigger an explosion of activity. As the bacteria responding to its call wake up, the plant feeds them with sugar. They proliferate around the root to form some of the densest microbial communities on Earth. The bacteria unlock from the soil the nutrients the plant needs, produce hormones and other chemicals that help the plant to grow, and can fire up the plant’s immune system, helping it to fight off disease.
Take a step back and you will see something fascinating. The relationship between plants and the bacteria in the soil looks very much like the relationship between humans and the bacteria in our guts. The soil surrounding a plant’s roots, that we call the rhizosphere, is, in effect, the plant’s external gut.
But what has all this to do with the soldiers lying in the mud at Shiloh?
Well, plants also cry out for help from larger creatures. When underground caterpillars attack a plant’s roots, it can start talking in a different language altogether: a language understood not by bacteria, but by those tiny white worms called nematodes. The nematodes responding to its call use their sharp beaks to pierce the caterpillar’s skin. Then they wriggle into the body cavity and regurgitate the luminous bacteria, called Photorhabdus luminescens, that live in their guts.
These luminous bacteria release an insecticide that kills the caterpillar. They also produce antibiotics that wipe out the microbes that might compete with them. Then they digest the caterpillar from the inside, and the nematodes eat the proliferating luminous bacteria. When they’ve finished, the nematodes burst from the caterpillar’s corpse into the soil, seeking new prey. These prey can be easy to find, because the luminous bacteria produce an enzyme called luciferase that makes the caterpillars they infect glow blue. The glow seems to attract other caterpillars that can then be attacked.
William Martin and Jonathan Curtis argued that the soil contaminating the soldiers’ wounds must have contained these predatory nematodes. Mistaking the soldiers’ flesh for caterpillars, the nematodes regurgitated their bacteria. The antibiotics the bacteria produced destroyed the other pathogens infecting the wounds. Because the luminous bacteria have evolved to infect insects, whose body temperature is lower than that of humans, the students speculated that only soldiers with hypothermia could have been saved by them. Which could be why some glowed and others didn’t.
The soil, on which we rely for our survival, is scarcely known to us. But it turns out to be an ecosystem as diverse and complex as a rainforest or a coral reef. An ecosystem built by the creatures that inhabit it. An ecosystem whose wonders we are only beginning to understand.
“An incredible story that touched my heart and gave me an insight to this phenomenon. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story about “Angels Glow”
“Amazing! Finding all that stock footage to properly illustrate a story this complex had to be a huge task. So well done!”
“This is amazing. Well done William Martin and Jonathan Curtis. 👏”
“Wow. we have so much to learn thank you for this❤”
“Brilliant documentary… Absolutely amazing.”
“I imagine a future where all students have universal access, resources & ongoing encouragement to follow their curiosities & discover more about our incredible ecosystem.”
Science:
Music:
“Wehre Direh (Reprise)” – Judah Earl
“Unbreakable Glass” – Lights & Motion
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