TWO AMERICANS and a Japanese researcher won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for the discovery of a glowing jellyfish protein that makes cells, tissues and even organs light up - a tool used by thousands of researchers around the world.
The 10 million Swedish krona ($1.4 million) prize recognises Japanese-born Osamu Shimomura, now of the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, Martin Chalfie, of Columbia University in New York, and Roger Tsien, of the University of California, San Diego, for their discoveries with green fluorescent protein.
In a statement, the Nobel committee said: "This protein has become one of the most important tools used in contemporary bioscience."
Shimomura first isolated GFP from jellyfish drifting off North America and discovered that it glowed bright green under ultra-violet light. For 20 years from 1967 he made a summer pilgrimage to Friday Harbour in Washington State to gather more than 3,000 jellyfish per day.
Chalfie and colleagues got bacteria such as E coli and tiny worms called C elegans to produce the protein by splicing in the right gene. The green colour of the jellyfish protein appears under blue and ultraviolet light, allowing researchers to illuminate tumour cells, trace toxins and monitor genes as they turn on and off.
"We can simply look inside an animal and say where has this gene been turned on, when is it turned on and, when the protein is made, where does it go?" Chalfie said. "They have their own flashlight telling you where they are."
Tsien used coral proteins too and extended the palette beyond green to yellow, blue and other colours, allowing scientists to follow several biological processes at the same time.
GFP has also been used for art.
A green-glowing bunny named Alba was made in 2000 at the request of a Chicago artist.
The laureate for literature will be unveiled today, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the economics award on Monday. - (Reuters)