Being made in the image of God could include giving off a "glow" until bodily death.
A newly released study of ultraweak photon emission (UPE) found not only that human beings give off light -- a glow so faint it's impossible to see with the naked eye -- but that the glow disappears upon death.
The fact humans glow was first discovered in 2009. This latest data, compiled by scientists from the University of Calgary and published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, analyzed the phenomenon, which comes via the emission of biophotons, in mice before and after death, concluding the light quickly fades when organisms die.
"The fact that ultraweak photon emission is a real thing is undeniable at this point," the study's senior author, Dan Oblak, told New Scientist. "This really shows that this is not just an imperfection or caused by other biological processes. It's really something that comes from all living things."
As for how it works, the "powerhouse" cell -- the mitochondria -- releases microscopic amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a byproduct while it is producing the energy needed to sustain life. The ROS then react with other molecules in the body, like proteins, lipids, and fluorophones, which, in turn, emits biophotons that give off light.
Could the "glow" humans emit be a result of being made in the image of God?
There are several Scripture passages that indicate human beings are made in God's image -- Genesis 1:27 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, among others. And there are other verses that describe God as an overwhelming and bright light.
For example, in 1 Timothy 6:16, the Apostle Paul wrote of God the Father, "He alone can never die, and He lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach Him. No human eye has ever seen Him, nor ever will. All honor and power to Him forever" (NLT).
And in the Old Testament, a prophecy in Ezekiel 1:28 described God as surrounded by "a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day" (NLT).
Ezekiel wrote, "This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone's voice speaking to me."
As for these new scientific discoveries, it's possible the technology used to reveal the soft "glow" could serve as a diagnostic tool to track problems within the human body non-invasively.
"Sustained exposure to high levels of ROS, via elevated production or the failure of antioxidant defenses, is associated with the pathophysiology of multiple diseases," stated the authors of a 2024 study. "Furthermore, the failure to produce ROS effectively in response to stressors is also indicative of metabolic dysfunction. The intrinsic link between ROS production and biophoton release means that monitoring UPE in living organisms represents a real-time, non-invasive method of early-state disease diagnosis."
"The nice thing about ultraweak photon emission is it's a complete passive monitoring process," added Oblak.