The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to the discoverers of the ‘green fluorescent protein’, known as GFP.

This remarkable protein was first observed in a species of jellyfish in 1962, and in the years since has become one of the most important biochemical tools. by attaching GFP to other proteins of interest, such as nerve cells and cancer cells, those proteins can be followed in their actions allowing scientists to map the activities of biological functions. And while that type of research may be fairly obscure for regular people to understand and follow, the GFP protein and some engineered brother proteins have been put to a commercial use most of us can relate to…

If you have an aquarium and pay attention to the very latest in cool tropical fish, you’ve no doubt heard about GloFish. These originally engineered zebrafish (that now pass their glow onto their offspring naturally) come in the standard ‘electric green’, but also in ’starfire red’ and ’sunburst orange’! Yes, they do faintly glow in the dark, but are best shown off under a fluorescent black light.

You could see these in your dentist or doctor’s office waiting room if you don’t have any already, so impress your care-giver by talking about the GFP protein and how the discoverers finally got their Nobel Prize! It probably won’t get you a discount on that filling or check-up, but it’ll give you something besides your sore knee or the increase in your insurance premium this year to talk about.

Links:
Green Fluorescent Protein Pioneers Share 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
GloFish: Experience the Glo!

Now, it might give you a chuckle, as it did me. But come on, folks… I hereby add ‘Irresponsible Use of Illustration’ in science news reporting as yet another category for the Science News Booby Prizes at year’s end. After last week’s sordid destruction of Nobel Laureate James Watson’s storied career as a notorious bigot, this sort of thing can definitely make one wonder what the heck these science reporters are thinking.

If they are in fact thinking at all.

BBC News: Health

The Annals of Improbable Research has announced the winners of the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize, awarded Thursday night (October 4) at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.

The Ig Nobels honor the contributions of off-beat scientists to humanity’s off-beat knowledge, or at least major contributions to humanity’s fine-tuned sense of the completely absurd. For instance, this years’ Ig Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to the U.S. Air Force’s Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for research into a chemical weapon designed to make enemy soldiers become irresistible to each other – the “Gay Bomb.”

No, the Air Force neglected to send any of its prize-winning researchers to Cambridge to formally accept the Prize. Reminds me of a line Tommy Lee Jones delivered in Men In Black, with liberties…

“We in the Air Force do not have a sense of humor that we are aware of.” Luckily the sciencey-types at MIT do have a sense of humor.

I was particularly intrigued by the world’s first comprehensive study of injuries that are caused by sword-swallowing. Since one of the authors of the study is himself a sword-swallower, he did know a little bit about what to look for. Your basic throat abrasions, perforated esophagi and punctured blood vessels.

The Ig Nobel Prize for Nutrition went to Cornell professor Brian Wansink, who established once and for all that Americans judge when they’re full with their eyes instead of their stomachs. In order to establish this, Wansink designed some clever soup bowls with hidden tubes which slowly refilled them as the diner ate. Turns out the diners managed to eat nearly 75% more soup at the sitting, even though they reported not feeling any more full than if they’d eaten a regular bowl of soup. No wonder Americans are obese!

Supersizing works.

Another Ig Nobel went to a Japanese researcher who developed a method of extracting vanilla flavoring from cow dung. Yum! And a group of Spanish scientists found that rats sometimes can’t tell the difference between the Japanese and Dutch languages – if they’re spoken backwards.

For the full list of 2007 winners, a blow-by-blow of the gala ceremonies and other festivities, check out these links..

Links:

The 2007 Ig Nobel Prize winners

Ig Nobels honor crazy science with a point

Omni Brain Blog: Ig Nobel Prizes Announced