Frogs Reveal Clues About The Effects Of Alcohol During Development
Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 22:35
in Health & Medicine
Alcohol can cause severe birth defects characteristic of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or fetal alcohol syndrome, but why these abnormalities occur is remains a mystery. Researchers have used frog embryos to show that alcohol steals away molecules needed for normal development and uses them for its own detoxification, causing cellular disorientation during a critical period of growth.