And The Nobel Prize Goes To...

Today a few Nobel Prizes were awarded.

Three scientists were given the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Japanese scientist, Osamu Shimomura, and American Scientists, Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien, were honored for their discovery of GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein). GFP has helped to make scientific research much more precise. According to The Independent, the florescent protein- which is extracted from a jellyfish- is "a widely used laboratory tool that illuminates processes in living organisms; such as the development of brain cells, or the spread of cancer cells."

The Nobel Prize for medicine was also merited to three scientists. French scientists, Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, were given the award for their discovery of the AIDS virus. German scientist, Harald zur Hausen, was given the award for his discovery of the virus that causes cervical cancer.

These are the first set of Nobel prizes to be awarded in 2008.