What if we could make the brain see-through?

It sounds like science fiction, but it could revolutionize how we study the brain.

Today on the show, we're talking with Guosong Hong, a faculty scholar here at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute who has a unique reputation for developing creative techniques that literally shed light on the brain—from using fluorescent nanomaterials and focused ultrasound to create a virtual flashlight inside the skull, to discovering a common food dye that temporarily makes skin, muscle, and even parts of the brain transparent.

Now, Guosong and colleagues are taking this work to the next level through a Wu Tsai Neuro Big Ideas grant, genetically engineering mice to have see-through brains from birth.

Learn More

Q&A: 'To see is to believe' (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2026)
Big Ideas in Neuroscience tackle brain science of everyday life and more (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2026)
Researchers turn mouse scalp transparent to image brain development (Stanford Report, 2026)
The future of transparent tissue (Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything Podcast, 2025)
Non-invasive brain stimulation opens new ways to study and treat the brain (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2025)
Researchers make mouse skin transparent using a common food dye (Stanford Report, 2024)

Note: Episode transcript will be uploaded within 24-48 hours of publication

Send us a text!

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience.

We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at neuronspodcast@stanford.edu

Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Big Ideas: How see-through brains could transform neuroscience | Guosong Hong

From Our Neurons to Yours