Abstract

Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by watching”. Unfortunately, before the early 1990s observations in the biological sciences were usually done on dead specimens that were specially prepared to allow entry of reagents that stained cell components. These methods allowed a glimpse of what cells were doing, but they gave a necessarily static view of life. GFP and other fluorescent proteins revolutionized the biological sciences because they allowed scientists to look at the inner workings of living cells. The story of the discovery and development of GFP also provides a very nice example of how scientic progress is often made: through accidental discoveries, the willingness to ignore previous assumptions, and the combined efforts of many people. The story of GFP also shows the importance of basic research on non-traditional organisms.

Speaker Bio

Professor Martin Chalfie

University Professor at Columbia University
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2008)

Professor Martin Chalfie, University Professor at Columbia University, shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his introduction of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) as a biological marker. He obtained his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University, and did postdoctoral research with Sydney Brenner at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. His research uses genetics to address how different types of nerve cells acquire and maintain their unique characteristics and how sensory cells respond to mechanical signals. This research has included investigations into microtubule structure and function, connectomics, and neural degeneration. Professor Chalfie also chairs the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering.

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