Two Americans scientists and a Japanese researcher won the 2008 Nobel prize for chemistry for their discovery of a green fluorescent protein that has become a key tool in bioscience, the prize committee today.
The prestigious 10 million Swedish crown (€1 million) prize recognised Osamu Shimomura of Japan and Americans Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien for their discovery of the brightly glowing protein GFP. It was first observed in the jellyfish
Aequorea Victoriain 1962.
"This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments which have led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience," the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
All but one of the prizes were established in the will of 19th century dynamite tycoon Alfred Nobel and have been handed out since 1901. The economics award was established by Sweden's central bank in 1968.
The Nobel prize for literature will be awarded tomorrow, followed by the peace prize on Friday and the economics award on Monday.