Announcements!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Glowing Jelly Fish lead to nobel prize!

Read this article...



Click here.

To learn more about the implications of the important work of two japanese and one American scientist!

Mr. Forde :-)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never saw a jellyfish that was rainbow colored. How was the jellyfish worth a noble prize?

Anonymous said...

I can't believe thers a such thing as glowing jellyfish- that's really cool! I've seen jellyfish at aquariams b4 but never this kind. Does that mean they live really deep down?

Jim Forde said...

Hey Alex,

Well, you'll have to read te article to learn more details, but studying the chemical that glows has lead to some amazing discoveries. They now use that glowing chemical to track the growth of cancer cells when they do research. Sometimes you don't know where your research will lead you!

Mr. F :-)

Jim Forde said...

Hi Sherene,

That is an interesting question. I think they may live at varying depths. I wondered about their flashing and found the following quote on a elly fish web site.

"It is not well understood how and why jellyfish use their bioluminescent capabilities, or what biological function this serves. Jellyfish do not flash at each other in the dark, nor do they glow continuously. Whereas scientists who study jellyfish bioluminescence can easily stimulate medusae and thereby see their bioluminescent response, this is rarely seen in undisturbed animals."

It appears that even scientists aren't sure how they use their glowing or bio-luminescence.

Mr. F :-)

Anonymous said...

A rainbow jwllyfish thats insane!!!
how did they create the jellyfish?

Nikki

Anonymous said...

I agree with Alex I never saw a rainbow jellyfish before thats cool but how did he know all these things.
~ Wendy P

Anonymous said...

Wow I have never heard of rainbow jelly fish that glow. But I have heard of shells that glow at night. Is there some kind of substance that sticks to the fish or shells that make them glow or is it built into their body?

-Sanju S.

Anonymous said...

Do these jelly fish live in deep parts of the ocean? Or the twilight zone? If so, then that explains why they glow. So that they could see down below. Or is it used for communication? Like if it's mating season. The males flash their colors to imprese females. Like peacocks or Light Bugs. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

I agree with alex also. Glowing jellyfish are cool but how were they worth a nobel prize. It doesnt make sence to me

Steven

Anonymous said...

I think that the jelly fish is really cool. I think that this scientist was really intrested and attached to this jelly fish to spend all this time on it. I think that it is worth a noble prize because it could lead to a cure for cancer. I dont know how a little thing could create such a big help in the world.
Sam b.

Anonymous said...

How do they glow?

samm

Jim Forde said...

Hi All,

I think the rainbow picture is not really a jelly fish but some brain cells that have been tagged with colored proteins. These could only be developed through an understanding of the jellyfish.

This is why the research was so important. They can now understand why they glow and use the chemicals to help esearch is other ways.

When you do research you never know ehere you will wind up! How exciting to know that his initial interest in jellyfish is changing the world!

Mr. F :-)

Anonymous said...

Is there some kind of substance that sticks onto the jelly fish that makes them glow or is it just built into their body so they glow?

-Sanju :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr. Forde,
Wow!! I have never a jellyfish that unique. I never knew there was such jellyfish that could win a nobel prize. That's awesome!!!

Jim Forde said...

Hi Sanju,

The glowing is created by structure within their bodies. They expose the structure to chemicals and it works. When the man who did the research was studying them he noticed that sea water was essential for the process to work. That may mean that sea salts help it work properly!

Mr. F :-)

Jim Forde said...

HI Anne,

It really wasn't the jelly fish that won ...but the research about why they glow. The scientist that studied this idea has now learned how to use the glowing chemicals to tag cells and watch them grow. This helps with cancer research. So really, it started with an interest in jellyfish but went WAYYYY beyond that over the years of hard work.

Mr. F :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow that is so cool! I never knew that jelly fish could glow! I wonder what other kinds of animals can glow. Thanks for showing us this Mr.Forde

Charlie

Anonymous said...

wow i never would think that there is a such thing as a rainbow jelly fish thats amazing

courteney