The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that when they injected the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) into rats suffering spinal cord injuries, the rodents were able to walk again, albeit with a limp.
The only side effect was that the treated [rats] temporarily turned blue.
July 28th, 2009 at 3:18PM
Is this how the Blue Man Group started?
July 28th, 2009 at 3:23PM
If I can take M&Ms therapeutically for my spinal cord injuries perhaps I *will* go bungie jumping!
July 28th, 2009 at 4:30PM
That mouse matches the color scheme of your blog. I think you should adopt it as the blog’s mascot.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:47PM
http://bit.ly/brown_rats_blue
(just in case…)
July 28th, 2009 at 4:57PM
veblen: I know! I saw the color match right away!
… Does the blog need a mascot…??
July 28th, 2009 at 4:58PM
Ratlike minds think alike, Bill. I checked that Youtube out as I was writing the post…
July 28th, 2009 at 5:53PM
UD, I don’t know that the blog needs a mascot, but a mascot certainly wouldn’t hurt.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:47AM
Obviously, this is an Andorian mouse with amputated antennae.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:24PM
He also appears to be quite deceased. 🙁
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:06AM
[…] as well with this blog’s color scheme as that blue rat. Margaret Soltan, 8:00AM Posted in: the […]
August 2nd, 2009 at 9:05AM
I hate to burst your bubble (or maybe M&M), but the CNN story was misleading (shocking, shocking! that CNN would blow the details of research). If I understand correctly, the chemical used in the study is a derivative of FD&C Blue #1, reengineered for the purpose (maybe to get to nerves?). So while you could feed your mouse a blue M&M, it’s not going to protect either a mouse or us from spinal damage.