Scientists Borrow Glowing Jellyfish Gene for Brain Research and Win Nobel

Meg Hamill — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:30:25 +0000

Two Americans, and one Japanese scientist, (Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and Osamu Shimomura) recently won a share of the Chemistry Nobel Prize for “borrowing” the glowing jellyfish trait and putting it to use.

Well, we’re at it again, “borrowing” the magical and bizarre wonders offered up by the natural world, and using these wonders to make humans healthier and happier. This time, we’ve isolated that strange trait that makes jellyfish glow in dark waters, and we’re using this trait for everything from cancer research to GMO’s.

They call it green fluorescent protein or GFP. Scientists can use what makes jellyfish glow, to show how brain cells develop or how cancer spreads. The glowing trait has also become important in biological engineering. When scientists are trying to change an animal or a plant, oftentimes they will use the gene responsible for GFP as part of the change. The “glow” will let them know whether the change has been successfully incorporated into the organism or not.

Green Options » biological engineering

Scientists Borrow Glowing Jellyfish Gene for Brain Research and Win Nobel

Two Americans, and one Japanese scientist, (Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and Osamu Shimomura) recently won a share of the Chemistry Nobel Prize for “borrowing” the glowing jellyfish trait and putting it to use.