Transparent mice fight cancer - 21st August 2023

Researchers from Germany are known for making mice transparent. They've now discovered a new method for creating 3D maps of the insides of animals' cells. This could help make drug research faster and decrease the need for testing on mice.

Before, labs had to use complicated and costly processes to show what organs and cells look like by using animals that were genetically changed. This was essential to understanding how treatments would affect cancer cells.

A team of researchers from Helmholtz Munich started using a special liquid to make mice's organs and bodies transparent. Now, they've combined this with a new way of looking at things called 'wildDISCO'.

Scientists tag antibodies and inject them into transparent dead mice. These tagged antibodies spread throughout the mice's bodies, and computers can make 3D images of specific organs or cells.

While other ways like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can show what's happening inside a body, wildDISCO's images are much more detailed. Using wildDISCO, the researchers have made maps of mice bodies which display detailed images of blood vessels, nerves and immune cells. Scientists can now look at structures linked to breast cancer spreading.

Other scientists can access these maps on the team's website. This helps them gather important information without needing to run tests on animals.

But the researchers hope to use wildDISCO to teach AI. With the 3D maps made with wildDISCO, the AI could learn how cancer spreads and help doctors predict and stop further growth.