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Nature 462, 135 (12 November 2009) | doi:10.1038/7270135a; Published online 11 November 2009

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Making the paper: Richard Mathies

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Tracking the structural evolution of chemical reactions.

Fluorescent tags have become a staple of biological experiments since their prototype — the green fluorescent protein (GFP) of the jellyfish Aequorea victoria — was cloned in 1992. The protein glows green when it is excited by blue light, the result of the transfer of a proton between two amino acids.