When shifts in nocturnal illumination—driven by urban expansion and changing atmospheric conditions—begin to correlate with altered migration timing in seabirds along a North Atlantic flyway, science writer Eliot Ford investigates a deceptively simple variable: light. Moving from field stations to microscopy labs, she examines how photons regulate biological systems through photoreception and circadian entrainment, shaping sleep, metabolism, navigation, and reproductive cycles across taxa.

Eliot synthesizes research on melatonin suppression, endocrine disruption, and ecological light pollution, alongside emerging studies on how spectral composition (not just brightness) affects behavior in insects, amphibians, and marine organisms.
Light is a research-driven, systems-level exploration of how natural and artificial light structures life on Earth—from cellular signaling pathways to population-scale ecological dynamics—and what measurable interventions (lighting design, spectral tuning, policy standards) can reduce harm while improving human and ecosystem health.