Without martin chalfie, green fluorescent protein seems to be just a "by-product" in scientific research. Shimomura published a paper on green fluorescent protein in 1972, but Charfe didn't hear about this term until 1988 in a lecture at Columbia University. Many years before that, he devoted himself to studying the neural structure of a nematode that was only 1 mm long. This nematode is composed of 959 cells, but it has a brain, sex and longevity. If Shimomura is the midwife of green fluorescent protein, then Charfe is the discoverer of the value of green fluorescent protein. However, the "encounter" between Charfe and green fluorescent protein has a lucky component.
Charfe is keenly aware that green fluorescent protein may become a magical tool for studying nematodes. After years of research, Charfe published the article "Green Fluorescent Protein as a Gene Marker" in the American journal Science on 1994. Although the text is only one page, it marks that green fluorescent protein has been put into laboratory application.
After this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced, some netizens in the biology section of Peking University's "Unnamed Forum" thought that Chafei had got a big bargain, and green fluorescent protein was just his tool for studying nematodes. In their view, Douglas Prasher, a former researcher at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, is more qualified than Chad Fei.
After Shimomura discovered the green fluorescent protein, Prasher discovered the gene that can clone the green fluorescent protein. Qian Yongjian once recalled that both he and Sharif benefited from Plascher, who provided them with this gene for free.
Prasher has no regrets about providing genes to Chaffey and Qian Yongjian. He said that they made great efforts. I was suffering from lack of funds at that time, and I was afraid I couldn't go on.
After leaving Woods Hole Laboratory for economic reasons, Plascher moved to a laboratory under the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Two and a half years ago, NASA terminated his contract. Prasher is now a car salesman in Alabama.
Charfe was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004.