Laboratory studies by chemical engineers at UC Santa Barbara may lead to new experimental methods for early detection and diagnosis –– and to possible treatments –– for pathological tissues that are precursors to multiple sclerosis and similar diseases. Achieving a new method of nanoscopic imaging, the scientific team studied the myelin sheath, the membrane surrounding nerves that is compromised in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is published in this week’s online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).