Sask. researcher turns to honeybees to study effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Inside a University of Saskatchewan lab, master's student Maria Janser has been feeding a group of bee larvae alcohol.
It's part of a new study using honeybees to better understand Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a brain-based condition caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Honeybees exhibit similar social behaviours as humans, making them a promising model for studying how prenatal alcohol exposure might affect social interaction.
'Cooperation, working together for a common goal, they take care of their young — a lot of similar things that you see in humans,' Janser told CTV News, standing beside a framed beehive.
In a few days, the alcohol-exposed bees will be introduced to a colony, and Janser will closely observe how they interact with the rest of the hive.
'How are they accepted when we put them in?' Janser said.
'Even just the way that they move around the hive. Bees will come up to each other, touch antennas, then walk away — are they participating in that?'
She's also interested in whether the bees care for larvae or interact differently with the queen.
The goal is for the findings of the research to go beyond the hive.
'I think that honeybees have a lot of promise for how they could help human health in the future,' Janser said.
'This is a very exciting first opportunity to start that.'
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