Science & technology | See-through mice

A common food dye can make skin transparent

The discovery allows scientists to see inside live animals

Close-up of syringe injecting a solution of yellow #5 dye into an orange container filled with water.
Photograph: Matthew Christiansen/U.S. National Science Foundation

SUPERMAN ASIDE, peeking inside a living body requires advanced technology. But even with the most sophisticated imaging techniques the resulting pictures are often unclear. Some things are obscured while others cannot be seen at all. A doctor’s life would be so much easier if skin could be made transparent at will. It now turns out that this can be accomplished—and by surprisingly simple means: the application of food dye.

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