Nobel Prize award Chemistry-2008
October 08, 2008
-Karthik Gurumurthy
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this year is awarded to three scientists jointly:
- Osamu Shimomura, a Japanese marine biologist who discovered the green fluorescent protein (GFP) while studying jellyfish in 1962.
- Martin Chalfie, an American biologist who successfully expressed GFP in living organisms in 1994, pioneering its use in biological research.
- Roger Y. Tsien, an American chemist who developed methods to modify GFP into different colors, greatly expanding its applications in studying various cellular processes.
Shimomura's education: He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Nagoya University in Japan in 1960.
Chalfie's education: He obtained his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University in 1969.
Tsien's education: He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1972.
It's important to note that each of these individuals played a crucial role in the development of GFP as a revolutionary tool in biological research. Their combined efforts, spanning from discovery to application, were recognized by the Nobel committee.
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