And the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to…
Submitted by skassel on October 8, 2008 – 10:09 pm2 Comments
Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien for their discovery of the green fluorescent protein.
Since 1962, when the protein was first discovered, it has developed into one of the most imperative tools used in present-day bioscience. With the help of GFP, researchers have improved techniques to observe processes that were previously invisible, such as the occurrence of nerve cells in the brain, or how cancer cells spread. [via slashdot ]
One of the more, uh, dubious products of the discovery is Alba, the green fluorescent bunny.
Popularity: 81% [?]
Question, why does it take so long to get a nobel prize for something like this?
The process of nomination, etc. takes a while, and it also takes a long time, in most instances, for the impact of a discovery to be fully realized, adding to the time between discovery and award. You typically don’t see this lag with most of the other awards. I imagine that if someone cured cancer or AIDS there wouldn’t be the extended delay.