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Scientists at Stanford University have developed a groundbreaking method to view inside the body using tartrazine, a common yellow food dye found in products like Doritos.
The innovative technique, published in the journal Science, involves applying tartrazine to the skin, which makes tissue temporarily transparent, revealing underlying structures like blood vessels, muscles, and gut movements.
By reducing light scattering in tissues, tartrazine alters how light refracts, creating a “see-through” effect without causing harm to the tissue. This effect can be reversed simply by washing off the dye.
The research, supported by the National Science Foundation, is seen as a major leap in optical technology. Adam Wax from the foundation hailed the results as “astonishing,” while Guosong Hong, a co-leader of the study, emphasized the potential applications in diagnosing internal conditions and refining medical treatments, particularly for detecting tumours.
Although the technique is still in the experimental stages and has not yet been tested on humans, the success in animal models, like mice, holds promise for future non-invasive medical imaging.
Researchers are now exploring other dyes and refining the process for human application, with further testing subject to ethical approvals.
