segunda-feira, 15 de abril de 2013

Brains as Clear as Jell-O for Scientists to Explore

Eu sempre brinco que se um resultado é muito mas muito bom e impactante, ele será publicado no New York Times.
Foi o que aconteceu hoje, quando abri a página do NYT, lá estava essa reportagem: cientistas conseguem tornar o cérebro transparente (como gelatina), permitindo uma visão exploratória como nunca antes imaginado.

"The visible brain has arrived — the consistency of Jell-O, as transparent and colorful as a child’s model, but vastly more useful. Scientists at Stanford University reported on Wednesday that they have made a whole mouse brain, and part of a human brain, transparent, so that networks of neurons that receive and send information can be highlighted in stunning color and viewed in all their three-dimensional complexity without slicing up the organ.
Even more important, experts say, is that unlike earlier methods for making the tissue of brains and other organs transparent, the new process, called Clarity by its inventors, preserves the biochemistry of the brain so well that researchers can test it over and over again with chemicals that highlight specific structures within a brain and provide clues to its past activity. The researchers say this process may help uncover the physical underpinnings of devastating mental disorders like schizophrenia, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and others."
Vejam essa foto do cérebro "claro"e transparente como gelatina (de limão?).

O link para o estudo original está aqui: Nature
Structural and molecular interrogation of intact biological systems




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