The trees would have the incident sunlight to work with as the source of energy for their glow, and that dwarfs the streetlight, at 100,000 lumens per square meter.

The science behind glowing plants might not be at streetlight-level yet, but Amirav-Drory and his team hope to inspire the public to help get it there. "The main motivation was to educate," he said.

Long-term: creating trees that glow so powerfully through bioluminescence that they can function as street lights. Short-term: promoting grassroots innovation within the realm of synthetic biology.

Gene-edited glowing trees, if they can be grown, could theoretically eliminate the need to manufacture that equipment, would require little cost, and zero electricity. They also would be efficient.

Your living room isn't the only place housing a large green Christmas tree with sparkling lights this year. NASA has found a spot in space with its own glowing cosmic tree for the holiday season ...

Even trees could be made to glow in the dark by splicing bioluminescent genes into their trunks and branches, say experts. These future "green" cities could resemble fairylands filled with radiant ...

Some artificial Christmas trees glow cheerily even without lights: The branches themselves softly glow, fading on and off in different colours at the tips. SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris's grand, 1,063-foot-tall crown jewel, typically sports a golden hue at night. On Sunday night, however, the monument glowed green with the light of thousands of virtual trees.