1 August 2009

Blue Dye's Benefit

A blue dye found in Gatorade and Rocket Pops could play a protective role in the cellular mayhem that follows spinal cord  injury. In rats, the dye - known as  FD&C Blue No. 1 - appears to block a molecule that floods the  injury site and kills nerve cells, a team reports in the July  28 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
rats dosed with the dye after injury showed greater improvement in motor skills than rats not receiving the dye.  And the food colorant's low toxicity suggests a new approach for treating spinal cord trauma in humans, injuries for which there are few therapies.

5 comments:

  1. Great news, but who will be left to sing the blues ...

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  2. Wow, sounds like a breakthrough, but I know there is more research to be done. A blue mouse, lol. I wonder if it turns people blue too when they use it???

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  3. lol did they dye his eyes also? Red in the first pic then black .. ummmm.

    Great news indeed!

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  4. I hate mice & rats.. scare the begeezes out of me (from about the age of 14yrs I have been terrified by the little things.. Im not really sure why? Think its just that they move SO Darn fast .. hard to keep an eye on them). BUT I have to say..., they look really cute in that picture... I kinda feel sorry for them too.. poor little things.

    Some months back my son came home during his University break with his newly aquired pet... Juliet. ( Juliet is a RAT.. ewwww)

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  5. lol my nephew had a rat also, not my cup-o-tea. I had tones of mice when I was lil (in a cage of course).

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