GIANTS IN HISTORY THE SCIENTIST WHO DISCOVERED WHY JELLYFISH GLOW

Osamu Shimomura (27 August 1928 – 19 October 2018) was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist who dedicated his career to understanding how organisms emitted light. Shimomura showed that the light-emitting apparatus of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in jellyfish was contained within the protein, suggesting that the GFP gene may be used as an imaging tool. Since its discovery, the GFP gene has been widely used as a tag to visualize the expression of other genes. For the discovery of GFP, Shimomura, together with Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008.

Founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College, Hokkaido University is one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious universities in Japan. The university provides diverse degree programs for international students both in the sciences and humanities. Boasting one of the biggest and most beautiful campuses in Japan, the universiy also houses cutting-edge research facilities, a university hospital, and a wide variety of field research centers.

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