2008 Nobel Prize for Chemistry announced

Researchers from America have jointly won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien were awarded the million euro prize for their discovery of a fluorescent protein which is used to monitor nerve cells in the brain, or the spread of cancer.

The protein, called GFP, was first seen in jellyfish.
Shimomura was the first to isolate GFP, and found it glowed bright green under ultra-violet light.

Chalfie and Tsien picked up the idea, extending the colours beyond green to let researchers follow several biological processes at the same time.

That also allowed scientists to track the development of Alzheimer’s Disease, and the growth of harmful bacteria.

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