Clear mouse brains!

                  Scientists studying mice brains discovered that they could strip away the fat from the brain.  This left almost all of the necessary molecules and structure.  They were trying to make a breakthrough in brain imaging.  They succeeded.  The brains they pulled the lipids out of became almost entirely clear.  This enabled them to view the processes of the brain and the cells as they work together.  The most important part is they can do it with a light microscope.  This will allow them to count various cells and watch how the brain communicates with the rest of itself.

                   The image above is a view of a mouse brain with the neurons treated with a chemical.  This chemical makes them glow.  That is a full mouse brain in the dark glowing!   This was achieved by soaking the brain in a chemical bath of chemicals that bonded with everything in the brain like glue.  Everything but the lipids that is.  Then they used a solvent to remove the lipids from the brain.  Normally, the brain would disintegrate because the lipids do the job of structure.  Instead, the chemicals held the neurons together by themselves.  They have also succeeded in doing this on a human brain as well.

NOS themes:

1. Science is collaborative.  This was done by a group of scientists working together.

2. Science is based on evidence.  They saw and documented the evidence in the form of see through brains!

3. Role of credibility.  This came from a well respected source among the science community.

4. The importance of repeatability.  They did this successfully to several brains of different species.

5. Role of motivation and curiosity.  They decided to see if they could remove the lipids and it worked

Link:

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349560/description/New_technique_gives_see-through_view_into_mouse_brains