Transparent Mice Offer a Front-Row Seat to Inner Anatomy

Researchers have found a way to make organs, and even bodies, transparent. (Credit: Yang et. al, Cell) Biologists have long wished for superhero-like X-ray vision to see right into organs or even the whole the body. Imagine the possibilities: watching where cancer cells go when they metastasize, tracking an asthma drug’s effect on the lung’s airways, or zeroing in on neurons in the brain. A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology have realized that dream of peering deep into the body. In a study published yesterday in the journal Cell, they demonstrate how to turn organs, and even bodies, into see-through “windows to the body” while keeping cellular structures and connections intact.See-Through Organs What makes tissues opaque are lipids, so the first step is to remove them. But how do you expunge the lipids without damaging the basic structure of the tissue or its nerves and other ...