ABC Student News: Curious Facts

Blue M&M's might be able to treat spinal injuries, scientists say

Researchers have been testing the effects of a compound called "Brilliant Blue G" on lab rats. The compound is a blue dye found in blue M&M's that gives them their distinctive color.

The researchers injected rats with spinal injuries with Brilliant Blue G. The compound improved recovery and reduced the lesions that came along with the injury. The way it worked is that the compound blocks another chemical that causes more cell damage during an injury, thus reducing the "secondary spinal cord damage" that the chemical causes. The result? The rats with spinal injuries that received treatment with Brilliant Blue G were able to walk again, while the control group rats that weren't treated were not. 

Now, before you start picking out blue M&M's to put into your first aid kit, it's important to note that the dye was only effective 15 minutes after sustaining the injury, it has to be absorbed intravenously, and one of the side effects is that the rats' skin turned blue.

Written by: Camila Vega