Common food dye found to make skin and muscle temporarily transparent
Researchers at Stanford University found that tartrazine, a food dye, can temporarily make tissues transparent in mice, enabling non-invasive visualization of organs and potential medical applications for diagnostics.
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Researchers at Stanford University have discovered that a common food dye, tartrazine, can temporarily make skin, muscle, and connective tissues transparent in living animals. This technique was demonstrated on mice, where applying the dye allowed scientists to visualize internal organs and blood vessels without invasive procedures. The dye alters the refractive index of tissues, enabling certain wavelengths of light to penetrate more easily, thus reducing light scattering. The researchers believe this method could have significant medical applications, such as locating injuries, monitoring digestive disorders, and identifying tumors without the need for invasive biopsies. The process is reversible, with tissues returning to their normal color once the dye is washed off. Although the technique has not yet been tested on humans, it holds promise for improving blood draws and enhancing the study of various diseases in a broader range of animal models. The findings, published in the journal Science, suggest that this approach could revolutionize medical imaging and diagnostics, potentially allowing for non-invasive examinations of deep-seated conditions.
- A common food dye can make skin and muscle temporarily transparent in living animals.
- The technique may help locate injuries, monitor digestive disorders, and identify tumors non-invasively.
- The process is reversible, with tissues returning to normal color after washing off the dye.
- The method has not yet been tested on humans but shows promise for medical applications.
- This breakthrough could enhance the study of diseases in a wider range of animal models.
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- Many commenters express doubt about the safety of using tartrazine in humans, given its lack of testing.
- There is a humorous tone in several comments, with jokes about Halloween costumes and the dye's potential for social media trends.
- Some users speculate on the scientific implications and potential medical applications, such as internal imaging.
- Concerns are raised about the regulation of tartrazine and its effects on health.
- Several comments reference the dye's common use in food, questioning its safety and effects on the body.
41 commentsMany years go by and he gets bit again and his skin goes back to normal. He finally returns to society, only to find that everyone has gone transparent, and he is once again an outcast...
Or is it really just a matter of serendipity waiting til now to lead anybody down the path of trying it this way?
Some tropical American frogs evolved to do it naturally (fam Centrolenidae). Some fishes also can do it also in a few different orders (Siluriformes and Perciformes at least), so in lower vertebrates it is possible and evolved several times.
But they have a different metabolism than ours and a mouse skin is much more thin than our own skin. I assume that this effect will work only on very small animals and the optical effect will hit some thickness limit somewhere. Could work on fingers but not in heart. At this moment my hype level is a 4 over 10.
Since when do mice not have skulls?
Reverse tattoos incoming.
For example, with an endoscope or other thing that checks internal passageways. Applying this stuff (or whatever is appropriate to the given organ) could potentially allow the optical visibility of more stuff.
In my home country, for example, it's not permitted for use in food. Many other places, however, allow this.
(They were perfectly normal medieval fantasy humans, except for their flesh and organs being mostly transparent, so you just saw a pinkish skeleton with a faint shimmer around it.)
Also related: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/eden-2
But given that we already eat large amounts of it with no harmful side effects, the expectations are good.
"I really do have a good heart!" (takes off shirt, take out a bottle of dye, and smear it on torso) "See, just look at it!"
Scientists use food dye found in Doritos to make see-through mice
My first reaction was, what the heck have I been smoking?
Fortunately the nail totally missed anything important, so they just pulled it out and bandaged him up- no worse for the wear. He went on to be an honest-to-God track star so it obviously didn't have any lasting effect.
Decades later we were talking about something and he said to me, "Why don't they use that x-ray water anymore?". I had no idea what he was talking about so I asked him to elaborate.
The way he remembers the incident is that they put his foot into a bucket of amber liquid and, once submerged, his skin became transparent. He looked in and saw his own bones, blood vessels, and- in the middle of it all- the nail that was causing such a fuss. He described wiggling his toes, flexing his ankle, and seeing the bones and tendons move, directly, with his own eyes.
His toddler brain, probably in shock, had combined the x-ray film and iodine bath. Over the years it had grown more detailed and reinforced. He described it with such clarity that I almost wondered if I hadn't been mistaken. He didn't believe me when I told him how I remember it. We called our mom who confirmed my version of events, plus did some googling, which finally convinced him.
Anyway I just sent him this article. It's interesting that not only is the x-ray water he remembers theoretically possible, it would actually be amber.
> The procedure has not yet been tested on humans and researchers will need to show it is safe to use, particularly if the dye is injected beneath the skin.
How did they resist the urge to sneak a peak at their own arm or one of their fingers?
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