Cool story, but ...

also kind of sad.

Huntsville resident Douglas Prasher has led an interesting life. Back in the late 1980s/early 1990s he isolated the gene that allows the Aequoria Victoria jellyfish to emit its odd glow. Unfortunately his grant from the American Cancer Society ran out before he was able to develop its medical applications.

What's so interesting about that? Well for one, two guys that he later gave copies of the gene to were able to develop some applications and they just won a Nobel Prize. So what is old Doug doing now? It turns out he's driving the courtesy shuttle for a Huntsville Toyota dealership.

So is Doug bitter? Evidently not:

"I could have hung onto the gene," Prasher said during his lunch break Thursday. "But when you're in that environment and losing public funds, you've got an obligation to share. I gave it away, and they took it and ran with it."

Tough luck Dr. Prasher. Best of luck down the road.

UPDATE: Just found out the story also made NPR this morning. Maybe Prasher will be able to cash in a bit, or at least find a new job.