Jan 25 2012
What Is Fluorescent Proteins
Living things are made up of basic components. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen make up all matter. These four elements make up the structural forms of all living organisms. Substances made out of several combinations of these elements are called carbohydrates, proteins, fats and proteins. Without these four elements, there won’t be life. Proteins cannot be absent in any living organism. Life processes need proteins to take place. Also, without proteins, the structural existence of any organism would be impossible. All living things have proteins in their structures. Smaller components make up proteins. Proteins make all things or organisms living with all of its different forms.
One such example of a protein that has very promising functions is the fluorescent protein. Fluorescent proteins were first discovered in a kind of a bioluminescent jellyfish known as the crystal jelly. Scientists also considered other bioluminescent creatures in the study of fluorescent proteins and they were found to contain the marvelous proteins as well.
The term “fluorescent” means that these proteins are capable of lighting up themselves. The luminescent parts of the crystal jelly or other animals that are bioluminescent are removed for their property. The light from the proteins also has a unique property. The light emitted changes in color when it is exposed to lights of different wavelengths. The protein that was found in the crystal jelly exhibited a light green color when exposed to sunlight, a yellow color when exposed to tungsten light, and a very vibrant green color under ultraviolet light.
When proteins are genetically manipulated, they may be used to illuminate organisms and parts of organisms for diagnostic imaging. Fluorescent proteins are used to make particular specimens glow under imaging devices, therefore, making them easier to be seen under imaging devices. The importance of imaging using fluorescent proteins is to understand how diseases or organisms work, multiply and move around the body. This is applicable to many hard-to-cure diseases.
Cancer is a good example of a disease that is studied through the use of fluorescent proteins. This application makes fluorescent proteins good tumor markers. Knowing how cancer works will help experts manage the disease and stunt its growth and operation inside a healthy body. Showing how cancer invades a healthy cell will help scientists find a way to stop cancer’s cell invasion and stop it right then and there. When a disease’s usual operation is discontinued, the organisms are easier to eliminate in the body.
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