Using a mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, researchers found that early, chronic cannabidiol treatment normalized emotional behavior, reduced alcohol motivation, and modulated key brain biomarkers linked to addiction.

Published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, this study addresses the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability, for which no approved treatment currently exists. It shows that CBD reverses gut microbiota dysbiosis and restores gut–brain communication.

CRISPR-editing OsFAD2-1 boosts oleic acid and stabilizes rice bran oil. Edited lines maintain key agronomic traits of breeding-ready germplasm.

In a new study, terrestrial bacteria-infecting viruses were still able to infect their E. coli hosts in near-weightless “microgravity” conditions aboard the International Space Station, but the dynamics of virus-bacteria interactions differed from those observed on Earth. Phil Huss of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A., and colleagues present these findings January 13^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Clouds, smoke and fog may darken the skies, but sediment, algae blooms and organic matter can turn day into night on the seafloor. That’s why an international team of scientists have created the first framework to identify and compare these marine blackouts. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, introduces the concept of a marine darkwave: a short-term but intense episode of underwater darkness that can severely impact kelp forests, seagrass beds and other light-dependent marine life.