Sagnik Nag , Amity University, Kolkata
Using genetic engineering, human cells can one day produce a squid protein that can help humans to varying their transparency and can lead to a see-through tissue. According to this theory, scientists claim that this can get better images of living tissues under the microscope. As a far fetched concept, it proclaimed that humans could make patches of their skin go transparent according to their will i.e. controlling the power to be transparent according to whims and fancies.
Cephalopods cannot only change the colour of their skins but they also can control the transparency. For example, Doryteuthis opalescence an opalescent squid, predominantly transparent, but the white testis of males is prominently visible inside their bodies. Females discourage alpha hostile males by transforming transparent tissue into white to delude a white stripe that looks like the male testis. The game of deception is well played by females to ward off aggressive males. This smooth deception is carried on using a protein called Reflectin. When the reflectin protein molecules are separated from each other, they allow the light to pass through them. But during this condition, the reflectin protein tends to clump up and changes the refractive index i.e. scattering more light which appears like a white stripe.
According to recent research conducted by Gorodetsky and his team, they worked upon human embryonic kidney cells – which are predominantly transparent and allowed them to grow in a dish after genetically modifying them to fabricate the reflectin protein found in the squid. The team altered the salinity of the liquid around the kidney cells and they were able to produce the reflectin inside the cells, which were in the form of clump masses or individual molecules. This alteration changed the amount of light entering that was either reflected by the cells or penetrated through them. Salinity has been used here as a measure to produce the reflectin protein but other various ways can be incorporated to produce the same, claimed by the team.
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