Common Food Dye Makes Mouse Skin Transparent, Researchers Find
Scientists have stumbled upon a somewhat bizarre discovery: a common food coloring used in snacks can temporarily turn mouse skin transparent. The dye—known as FD&C Yellow 5 or tartrazine—allows researchers to peek inside living rodents without cutting them open. The non-invasive technique, if it can be adapted, could improve human health care. “We found that an aqueous solution of a common food color approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tartrazine, has the effect of reversibly mak...
