'Glowing' jellyfish grabs Nobel prize

Brainbow: A fantastic array of colours is now possible

A clever trick borrowed from jellyfish has earned two Americans and one Japanese scientist a share of the chemistry Nobel Prize.

Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and Osamu Shimomura made it possible to exploit the genetic mechanism responsible for luminosity in the marine creatures.

Today, countless scientists use this knowledge to tag biological systems.

These glowing markers will show how brain cells develop or cancer cells spread through tissue.

Jellyfish will glow under blue and ultraviolet light because of a protein in their tissues. Scientists refer to it as green fluorescent protein, or GFP.

From the BBC News

Neil Nightingale: a follow up to Life in Cold Blood responses

As a follow up to the earlier discussion, I found this interesting comment by the Head of the BBC's NHU in response to a damning article on in vitro Wildlife filming:

Neil Nightingale writes

Steve Hewlett's piece Is It OK For Natural History Programmes to Use Fake Footage? gives a false impression of both the motivation for and our openness about filming animals in controlled conditions. He also suggests this is done for "entertainment". While the great majority of our footage is filmed entirely in the wild there are some animals and natural behaviours that are virtually impossible to obtain in the wild. If we did not sometimes film in controlled conditions we would be unable to bring these fascinating stories to audiences. It is for reasons of enlightenment and education that these techniques are necessary.

See Neil's letter in full here

You also might be interested in how open some productions really are about their studio filming. We can find out al about Wild China's filming techniques online where they give clear reasons for the use of non-wild clips.

Thank you for your comments.

Big Cat Live: On your screens now!

Big Cat Live leapt onto our screens last night with an introduction to the presenters, the cats and the local wildlife we'll be following over the next few weeks.

I hope I speak for many when I say that after seeing her out of her usual habitat I'm reassured that Kate Silverton will do Saba proud as the new presenter on the savannah!

You can watch last night's show online here and stay tuned for episode 2 tonight at 7.30 on BBC1.

Pushing it too far...

I know the title of this post may be ironic given that I have almost over-discussed the use of studio footage in wildlife filmmaking now, but I couldn't resist bringing you this. It seems that wildlife filmmaking has far to go before becoming true masters of faking it!

The world saw Lin Miaoke, right, sing at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony - but actually heard the voice of Yang Peiyi, left.

The real singer was deemed too "flawed" to be seen in the ceremony! I know this was in the news ages ago, but I feel it illustrates my point.

Sorry for the digression...back to natural history!

Wildlife Film News: Gorillas!!

The BBC Natural History Unit has been granted unprecedented access to the world of the critically endangered mountain gorilla for a landmark documentary series for BBC Two.

Set to be the most intimate and revealing portrait of gorilla life to date, the series will chart the plight of a species in "intensive care".Just a handful of families cling to existence on the forested peaks of three isolated volcanoes in a small corner of Africa, surrounded on all sides by a growing human population.

Over three 60-minute programmes, cameras will enter this fragile world and follow the life of one gorilla family as they go about their day-to-day existence. From the joy and happiness of a new birth and worry for a sick infant, to the tenderness of relationships built over decades and the horror of a violent death, the films will explore the real emotion entwined in the various aspects of life for one of the most charismatic species on the planet.

The series will meet the team of experts dedicated to caring for them – "the gorilla doctors" – a group of vets, conservationists and local rangers who work tirelessly to care for the species. It will also explore the fascinating history of the mountain gorilla, from their discovery only a century ago, through their ongoing struggle to survive to the bleak future they face today.

Executive Producer, Sara Ford, says: "We will have privileged access to one of the planet's most emotionally engaging animal characters. This will be the definitive series on the endangered mountain gorilla as well as an intimate family portrait set against a backdrop of human conflict and passionate endeavour."

Neil Nightingale, Head of BBC NHU, adds: "Mountain gorillas are some of our closest relatives and yet, as a species, they have been reduced to no more than a few hundred individuals in a small corner of Africa. The fascination of their current lives, their turbulent past and the uncertainty of their future, makes for one of the most dramatic and emotional wildlife stories of all."

Gorillas is being made by BBC Vision Productions and was commissioned by Emma Swain, Head of In-house Commissioning, Knowledge. Executive Producer is Sara Ford. The three-part series will go out in 2010 on BBC Two.

From the BBC Press Office.