Blue Rats Move Again After Food-Dye Injection
Fifteen minutes after researchers intentionally paralyzed this rat by dropping a weight on its back, they injected the rodent with Brilliant Blue G dye, a derivative of common food coloring Blue Number One. The dye reduced inflammation of the spinal cord, which allowed the rats to take clumsy steps—but not walk—within weeks, a new study says.
In both rats and people, secondary inflammation following spinal cord trauma causes more lasting damage than the initial injury: Swelling sparks a small “stroke,” which stops blood flow and eventually kills off the surrounding tissue.
Other than blue skin and eyes, “we can find no clinical effect on the rat,” said Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.
Six weeks after injecting the blue dye, the research team killed and dissected the treated rat to inspect its spinal cord …. —though not entirely without regrets. “It was so cute, that rat,” study co-author Nedergaard said.
The team was surprised to find that the spinal cord was still blue—the rat’s skin and eyes had returned to normal after one week.
With a blue complexion as the only side effect, the substance may someday be the first major intervention available for people with spinal cord trauma, Nedergaard said.
“The problem is we don’t have any treatment now,” she said, adding that steroids are currently the most common medication used to help spinal-trauma patients. “That was really what prompted the search. … As far as I can see, every patient can receive the blue food dye, because there’s no downside.”
Link and photo via nationalgeographic.com.
Amazing. Where the hell did they get the idea to do this in the first place I wonder.
Hmmm. Did a little more research on this; for a while people have been claiming that blue sports-drinks make a good hangover cure. Well, I’m on holiday, I like booze, and I don’t like hangovers, so I have decided to investigate.
For those in the UK, if you pop along to Tesco, go to the baking aisle (usually it’s the furthest food-aisle from the entrance, after the booze and before homewares) and you can pick up a 38ml bottle of Dr Oetker blue food colouring for 52 pence. It’s a nice concentrated source of Brilliant Blue, which I diluted a bit with water and drank (it’s flavourless) before opening the vodka (which ALWAYS makes me hungover). SCIENCE!!!
A health warning; for some reason the dye also contains a bit of Carmoisine, which is red (no idea why they really felt the need to add this) and is an azo dye. Consequently, this could increase your risk of various cancers, particularly bladder cancer. It’s also been linked to various autoimmune problems, and possibly hyperactivity. Hell, the blue dye has been linked to this as well. However, I’m reckless and drunk, so I’ll take my chances. I just wish I’d remembered to get some mixers…
N.B. I only diluted a few drops, not the whole bottle. And, y’know what, sod it; I’m adding some to the next drink too. Science is fun.
Heck I would try out the blue dye for fun to see how I would look with blue skin.
I’ll second the wanting the blue for cosmetic reasons.
It would make for the best Dr Manhattan costume ever. Also, Good Morning. I have no hangover (and green poo). This warrants further investigation (i.e. excessive drinking).
Apparently the blue skin and eyes fade after a few weeks.
But this hangover thing is fascinating.
Is it just me or the bolded part isn’t really the most relevant?
Is it just me or the bolded part isn’t really the most relevant?
The bolded part is what amused me the most. Relevancy depends on the reader’s views.
Is the world REALLY a better place now that you know blue dye makes a paralyzed animal’s legs twitch a little? Does this “knowledge” merit dropping a weight on a living creature’s back? You people are SICKOS, NOT SCIENTISTS.
Yes it does. It may well help prevent trauma associated spinal paralysis. You wouldn't understand though because you form your beliefs with lack of evidence or reasons and object to such things just because you "don't like the idea it."