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A food dye commonly found in Doritos can make a mouse’s skin transparent, according to new research from Stanford University. According to a report on Hindustan Times, the study, published September 5 in Science under the title Achieving Optical Transparency in Live Animals with Absorbing Molecules, reveals that scientists were able to see through the skin of live mice.
The experiment, led by Dr. Zihao Ou, assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, aimed to find better ways to observe tissues and organs within the body. Researchers applied a mixture of water and tartrazine—known as FD&C Yellow 5, a common food dye—to make the skin on the skulls and abdomens of live mice transparent.
“We combined the yellow dye, which absorbs most light, particularly blue and ultraviolet light, with skin, a scattering medium. Individually, these block most light, but together, we achieved transparency,” Ou said. This allowed the team to observe blood vessels on the brain's surface as the skull skin became transparent. In the abdomen, they could monitor internal organs and digestive tract muscle contractions.
While the process hasn't been tested on humans, Ou noted the challenges due to human skin being significantly thicker than mouse skin. The appropriate dosage and delivery method for humans remain unknown.
Ou highlighted the potential medical applications of the research, noting that transparent tissue could revolutionize biomedical research. “Optical equipment, like microscopes, isn’t typically used to study live animals or humans because light can’t penetrate living tissue. But with this new transparency technique, we’ll be able to examine biological dynamics in much greater detail.”
[Information sourced from Hindustan Times]
