The Nobel Prize winners are.....

The Discovery of Green Fluoresant Protein(GFP)

Two Americans and one Japanese won the Nobel Prize award in chemistry this year for the discovery and development of a brightly glowing protein first seen in jellyfish, which has helped scientists study how cancer cells spread. The chemists are Mr.Shimomura, Mr.Chalfie and Mr.Tsien. The green fluoresant protein, or GFP is a laboratory tool used to illuminate processes in living organisms. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1848177,00.html has documented the work the chemists did with the GFP.

In 1962, Mr.Shimomura was able to isolated GFP (a protein)from a jellyfish and discoverd it glowed neon green under ultraviolet light. In the 1970s, Mr.Shimomura showed that the GFP contained a chemical group that can absorb and emit light. Mr.Chalfie thought that the protein would be an excellent tool for the various activities he could do with the roundworm's cells. He and others also proved that no other proteins were needed to control the chemical production of the GFP. Mr.Tsien's work helped extend GFP's usefulness.He proved this statement by exchanging various amino acids in different parts of GFP therefore it aborbs and emits different colors including blue,cyan and yellow.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said and I quote," Chalfie showed GFP's value "as a luminous genetic tag" while Tsien contributed "to our general undestanding of how GFP fluoresces"". Since Mr.Shimomura, Mr.chalfie and Mr.Tsien produced lots of information about GFP, researchers have been able to use GFP to track nerve cell damage from Alzheimer's disease. The academy says and I quote,"In one spectacular experiment, researchers succeeded in tagging different nerve cells in the brain of a mouse with a kaleidoscope of colors."

I think that the chemists deserved the Nobel Prize award. I feel, with this new discovery, doctors can help patients with Alzheimer's and other diseases. The discovery they found out will be a development in our technology and medicine studies. I think it is amazing that scientists from all around the world are trying to find cures for diseases that were uncurable in the past.