The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will go to a trio of researchers who discovered, expressed, and developed green fluorescent protein (GFP) and revolutionized the way that biologists visualize living cells. Osamu Shimomura discovered GFP in the jellyfish __Aequorea victoria__ in 1962 while working at Princeton University, Martin Chalfie of Columbia University first expressed the protein in __E. coli__ and __C. elegans__ in the early 1990s, and Roger Tsien of the University of California, San Diego, has been at the forefront of developing GFP and its homologs such that the protein has become a ubiquitous biological tool. The three will share this year's chemistry prize when it is formally awarded in Stockholm this December. Check back for further coverage shortly.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!