Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Scientists turn mouse transparent

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Aug, 2014 09:38 AM
    In a major breakthrough, scientists have transformed a mouse into a "see-through" creature that can give them a clearer view of the body tissues for research.
     
    With the technique called CLARITY, the body of the mouse has been rendered transparent.
     
    The method involves a water-based gel and detergents and can reveal all of an animal's organs - from its brain to its kidneys - while keeping them intact.
     
    "This is the first study to perform whole-body clearing as opposed to first extracting and then clearing organs outside the adult body," said Viviana Gradinaru, a neuroscientist at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
     
    The earlier method for rendering individual organs transparent had been used only in the case of brains and embryos.
     
    Gradinaru and her team adapted the technique to use on whole mouse bodies.
     
    The gel allowed them to remove the fatty molecules quickly.
     
    In order to prevent tissue damage, they injected the gel and detergents directly into the rodent's bloodstream and within two to three days, organs like kidneys, heart, lungs and intestine turned transparent.
     
    Within two weeks, the entire brain had turned clear as well, Live Science reported.
     
    "We have also developed a solution for storing and imaging thick chunks of transparent tissue. Once tissue is stored in this way, scientists will be able to see the connections between cells, as well as the structures and molecules inside cells," researchers asserted.
     
    The study was published in the journal Cell.

    MORE Tech ARTICLES

    Human-induced water vapour next climate threat

    Human-induced water vapour next climate threat
    The rising levels of water vapour in the upper troposphere - a key amplifier of global warming - owing to greenhouse gases will intensify climate change...

    Human-induced water vapour next climate threat

    Facebook favoured for background check on prospective partner: Survey

    Facebook favoured for background check on prospective partner: Survey
    Almost fifty percent unmarried people in India use social networking site Facebook to conduct a background check on their prospective partner...

    Facebook favoured for background check on prospective partner: Survey

    2.5 bn smartphone users globally by 2015: US report

    2.5 bn smartphone users globally by 2015: US report
    Nearly 2.5 billion people or 35 percent of the global population is expected to use smartphones by the end of 2015, says the latest report of US-based industry...

    2.5 bn smartphone users globally by 2015: US report

    New technique to build 'invisible' materials with light

    New technique to build 'invisible' materials with light
    A new method of building materials using light could one day enable technologies that are often considered the realm of science fiction, such as invisibility ...

    New technique to build 'invisible' materials with light

    Device to help neuroscientists analyse 'big data'

    Device to help neuroscientists analyse 'big data'
    In the era of unprecedented quantities of information via web, mobile and other internet-based operations, here comes a new device that can help neuroscientists make sense of the "big data"....

    Device to help neuroscientists analyse 'big data'

    Lenovo to take on Google Glass

    Lenovo to take on Google Glass
     Lenovo is developing a wearable smart glass similar to Google Glass with an external battery to be worn on the neck....

    Lenovo to take on Google Glass