Nobel for Chemical Jellyfish Lights

Recently, the most important scientific prize has been awarded for its Chemistry achievements section. The winners are a Japanese and two American researchers who discovered and improved the applications of the glowing proteins in jellyfish.

The actual discovery was made in 1961 by a Japanese citizen, Osamu Shimomura, who lived in the US for about 50 years. His studies focused on revealing the chemical processes that allowed a certain jellyfish (Aequorea victoria) to glow in the dark. He found out that it contained a particular protein that glowed when subjected to the influence of UV light, called the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This finding alone, if performed during modern times, would surely make a perfect candidate for the IgNobel prize (the exact opposite of the Nobel, the equivalent of “The Golden Raspberry” or “Razzie”, as it is sometimes called, for the Oscar).

Luckily, a neurobiologist from Columbia University, Martin Chalfie, and his team understood the importance of Shimomura's discovery and managed to clone the protein's gene in the Escherichia coli bacteria and the Caenorhabditis elegans roundworm, making some of their individual cells glow green. He realized the crucial importance of using GFP for medicinal goals by tagging specific cells and tracking their development. Later on, Roger Tsien from the University of California in San Diego joined the efforts and was able to extend the color palette of the GFP beyond the green one, which further enhances the possibilities of cell monitoring. More specifically, this allows researchers to track the development of molecules, cells or whole processes, like the growth of brain nerve cells or the spreading of cancer ones, providing an essential support to fighting diseases like cancer, Alzheimer or diabetes.

But there are other, less serious uses for the GFP. For example, by using this technique, any animal can be made to glow entirely. “Starfire Red, Electric Green and Sunburst Orange” now provides Asian and North American customers genetically “engineered” GloFish for their home fish tanks. The GFP discoverers will receive equal amounts of the $1.4 million prize.