Stanford Engineering
31 October 2025
About a year ago, a research team at Stanford Engineering led by Guosong Hong published a paper about their work to use a common food dye to make mouse skin transparent. Their findings made a big splash and have the potential to provide a range of benefits in health care. You can imagine that if we have the ability to see what’s going on under the skin without having to cut into it, or use radiation to get a clear look, this could improve everything from invasive biopsies to painful blood draws. We hope you’ll tune in again and enjoy. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Guosong HongGuosong's Lab: THE HONG LABConnect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / FacebookChapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces Guosong Hong, an expert in physics, material science, and biology from Stanford University. (00:01:52) Material Science Meets Neuroscience How Guosong’s research blends nanomaterials and brain science. (00:03:00) Why Tissue Isn’t Transparent The challenge of light penetration in biological tissues. (00:04:54) A New Approach to Tissue Clearing The physics behind tissue transparency and refractive index manipulation. (00:07:57) UV Light and Transparency How manipulating UV absorption can align refractive indexes. (00:10:16) First Experiments and Results Initial tests that demonstrate successful tissue clearing. (00:12:19) Applications in Medicine The potential of transparent tissues in dermatology and medical imaging. (00:14:36) Testing on Live Tissue The results of testing transparency techniques on live mice. (00:18:30) Transparency in Nature How some species have naturally transparent tissue. (00:19:52) Human Eye and Protein Transparency The unique proteins that keep our lenses clear using similar physics. (00:22:24) Wireless Light Inside the Body Developing ultrasound-activated light sources for tissue imaging. (00:24:55) Precision of Ultrasound Light How precisely ultrasound can trigger tiny particles to emit light. (00:28:14) Conclusion Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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