Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a green pigment with which most coral keepers should be familiar with; GFP is the most common fluorescent pigment found in soft and stony corals, GFP is an antioxidant when corals are exposed to light stress and some corals are literally being cross infected by GFP from other corals.
Many other reef critters are endowed with some dose of it, not the least of which are the closely related jellyfish, but you just wouldn’t believe what mad scientists have discovered they could do with jellyfish GFP. Swedish researchers discovered that taking by taking purified GFP from the Aequorea
victoria jellyfish and dripping the solution between two plates of silicon dioxide with electrodes at either ends, they had built themselves a nice solar panel.
The ‘GFP sandwich’ works as a solar panel because the strands of the protein works itself between the two electrodes and when UV light is applied, the fluorescent protein absorbs photons and emits electrons. Although the GFP and SiO2 sandwich drips out some electronic juice, this study is still very much in the proof-of-concept stages and much more work needs to happen before we grow jellyfish to have a steady supply of Cnidarian GFP.
On a side note, maybe now we know what to do with all that damn green slimer acro, but will it blend? We think it will.
[via Inhabitat]
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