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A group of researchers of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) formed a new technique that will enlarge cells and provide high resolution images. The scientists named it as expansion microscopy. It will allow experts to effortlessly increase the size of tissue samples.
Unlike other latest scientific techniques, expansion microscopy is pretty simple and inexpensive. The scientists merely have to embed the tissue samples into a polymer with small quantity of water. The polymer will allow specimen to swell and magnify.
The researchers were analyzing the specimen when they realize the need of a new method to probe brain structure. They were astonished with the enlargement ability of sodium polyacrylate. The chemical increases the size of the thing which absorbs it as liquid. Generally, the chemical is utilized in baby diapers as the substance absorbs the liquid.
Ed Boyden, the developer of the technique states that experts were striving to make use of classical super resolution methods to examine the brain circuits. It was extremely difficult to use them since they can only we visualized up to two dimensions. Hence, they begin to look for a useful method to expand everything.
Nowadays, research on human brain is one of the most prominent fields of science. President Barrack Obama proclaims to give $100 million for the Brain related projects. The main objective of the project is to recreate the function of every neuron in the brain.
Researchers explained the new method in detail in Journal Science.
