04 Jun 20
Living and transparent human cells..... based only on the expression level of one recombinant protein called reflectin. Crank up it's expression, your cells become more transparent. Dial it down, we can see you now. Reconfigurable and rapidly reversible, just like a squid. They suggest at the end that their future direction is to make a see-through mouse for purposes of detailed live imaging. Cool stuff for sure.
Our findings may lead to the development of unique biophotonic tools for applications in materials science and bioengineering and may also facilitate an improved understanding of a wide range of biological systems.
Original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16151-6
For general consumption: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2245026-genetically-altered-human-cells-can-vary-their-transparency-like-squid/
