Martin Chalfie

Chemistry

This biochemist won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien "for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.” In his Nobel lecture Martin Chalfie states that the green fluorescent protein really won the prize and he just assisted. He used the green fluorescent protein to image the nervous system of a transparent worm he was studying. His interest was to better understand the nerve cells of a particular worm that responded to being slightly pushed or pull. Understanding this would give us insight into the senses of touch and hearing, and our ability to stay balanced.