Biosentients - Science Biology… etc

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a family of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) in a primitive sea animal, along with new clues about the role of the proteins that has nothing to do with their famous glow. GFPs recently gained international attention with the awarding of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared by UC San Diego's Roger Tsien, as word spread of their extensive presence in nature as well as benefit to researchers. GFPs, originally isolated from a luminous jellyfish, have gained scientific ubiquity in uses ranging from biomedical tracers to probes for testing environmental quality. But while the value of GFPs in biomedicine and bioengineering has become evident, their diversity across the tree of life and their role in nature haven't been as easily deciphered........