A intelligent move made by two American researchers and one Japanese-born scientist awarded them with a share of the chemistry Nobel Prize. The move was nothing more than a smart trick on a jelly fish.
Scientists use GFP to study mosquitoes and malaria (Above)
Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and Osamu Shimomura Shimomura made it possible to make use of the genetic mechanism responsible for luminosity in the marine creatures. Today, countless researches and scientist make use of this technique. These glowing indicators have the ability to show how cancer cells spread through tissue.
Jellyfish glow under blue and UV light due to the protein structure in their tissues. This is referred to as green fluorescent protein (GFP). Firstly, scientist Shimomura made the critical step by isolating GFP (1962). Later through the decades, in the 90’s, the value of “the luminous genetic tag” was recognized. GFP, has now become a usual tool in the laboratories. It aids in fundamental research and it has a significant effect on the field of genetic engineering.
It is due to these findings, that, the popular media stories presented "glowing" rabbits, butterflies, pigs emerging from laboratories.
An Example of it's use:
Scientists working on the modification of a plant or an animal will often use the gene responsible for the glow. Fluorescence properties of the gene will then tell the scientists if the modification has been taken up successfully or not, significantly increasing the efficiency of the whole research.
No comments:
Post a Comment