Molecular Flashlights That Light up Science

Abstract

This article is based on an interview between Prof. Martin Chalfie and Noa Segev.Scientists investigate things by observation. They look at a phenomenon that interests them and try to understand it, using the most advanced tools they have. It is often challenging for scientists to see and measure what they want to study, often because they want to go beyond what had been previously seen. The development of modern imaging techniques has allowed scientists to see things that they could not see before. In this article, I will tell you about one of those breakthroughs in imaging, based on a wonderful glowing protein called green fluorescent protein (GFP). GFP not only changed my life, but the lives of many other scientists, and ultimately of many non-scientists as well. Among other things, GFP allows us to detect and observe the activity of proteins and whole cells in living animals, and to detect the activity of genes that code for specific proteins. By the end of this article, I hope you will understand much more about GFP and how it lights up science.