New London Tube: Glow-In-The-Dark Axolotls

Even if I tend to look for more recent New London videos for this column, sometimes it's more interesting to see some of the older uploads. Especially when I'm going to be gone for a week and need to plan ahead.

This week's pick is one of the most-viewed YouTube videos out of New London, nearing a quarter of a million views. Posted to the official channel, it takes a peek at some axolotls at the college that have been genetically modified to glow green under a blue light.

Axolotls, according to an extensive website on the creature, are an endangered species native to Mexico. They are also frequently used as in laboratory research, given its abilities to rapidly heal itself and regenerate lost limbs.

So it's important to note that the college isn't just turning the axolotls green to make them look cool. They belong to Professor Marc Zimmer, a chemistry professor who has been at the school since 1990 and specializes in flourescent proteins. His college profile notes that he is the author of Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology, in which he discusses how flourescent proteins can be used "to kill and image cancer cells, monitor bacterial infections and light up in the presence of pollution."

The specific protein at work in this video is Green Flourescent Protein, or GFP, which is found in jellyfish. Zimmer says this can be used as a marker in biological and medical work.

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