How transparent mice help fight cancer

Clear mice - 21st August 2023

In 2018, scientists in Germany found a way to make mice clear. Now, they’ve also found a new way to make 3D maps of animals' cells. This could make drug research faster and use fewer animals for testing.

Labs used to use animals to test new drugs. They used to change their genes and use their organs. This was important for studying cancer cells and treatment.

Scientists from Helmholtz Munich used a special liquid to make mice's organs and bodies clear. Now, they've mixed this with 'wildDISCO', which makes maps of organs and cells.

They put special tags on antibodies and put them into clear dead mice. These tags spread in the mice's bodies, and computers can use them to make 3D pictures of special organs or cells. WildDISCO makes maps of the mice’s bodies which show blood vessels, nerves and immune cells. Scientists can use these to study how cancer cells grow.

These maps are available on the team's website for other scientists. This helps them get important information without testing on animals.

Scientists hope to teach AI with wildDISCO. By using the maps from wildDISCO, the AI could learn about how cancer spreads and make predictions.