Caltech scientists have figured out how to make mice transparent. Not for fun, but for research. This method allows you to look inside the body without opening it.
The new method is based on previous successes in the "reflection" of the mouse brain. As the head of research, Vivian Gradinaru, notes, this is the first time that a normal sample of a rodent is transformed into a transparent one.
To begin with, the mouse had to put down and remove the skin from it. Then the researchers filled the bloodstream of a dead rodent with a special gel that dissolved fat, thus lightening the organs. The gel also acted as a stabilizer, preventing the decomposition of tissues. It took two or three days to make the kidneys, heart, lungs and intestines of the mouse transparent. Lightening the brain and other parts of the body took about two weeks, writes the publication Cnet.
The idea itself is not new, but according to our data, this is the first study to lighten the whole body. In our case, you do not need to remove the internal organs, then to give them transparency. Our methodology allows us to accelerate research on mapping the body, as well as to study the effect of peripheral nerves and organs on cognitive processes and vice versa, ”said Greedaru.
In other words, observation of the processes inside the whole organism can help in the search for new methods of treatment of neurological diseases, for example, Parkinson's disease.
I must admit that the transparent body of a dead mouse is not a pleasant sight.
The article is based on materials .
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