Tag Archives: University of Colorado

CU Boulder, Charlotte’s Web Begin Sleep & Anxiety Studies

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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Charlotte’s Web Holdings announced a new collaboration with the University of Colorado-Boulder and their Research and Education Addressing Cannabis and Health (REACH) Center. The University’s REACH Center will conduct a preclinical study on how hemp oil can influence sleep quality and anxiety.

Charlotte’s Web and University of Colorado-Boulder Collaborative Study to Assess CBD and CBN’s Potential to Support Improved Sleep (CNW Group/Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc.)

The study will use Charlotte’s Web hemp products, including their full spectrum hemp formulations containing CBN, CBD and less than 0.3% THC. Monika Fleshner, PhD, Professor of Integrative Physiology and member of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Colorado, will be the project lead and will conduct the study in her Stress Physiology Laboratory. “There is a great need for properly controlled experimental studies that are designed to test the potential neural and physiological impacts of hemp derived phytocannabinoids,” says Dr. Fleshner. “With support from CU REACH and Charlotte’s Web, our research will explore both the efficacy and mechanisms of how these substances can affect complex brain-mediated behavior, such as disturbed sleep.”

Tim Orr, senior vice president of Charlotte’s Web and president of its CW Labs division, is currently working on more than twelve scientific research studies with the company. “Charlotte’s Web is committed to advancing science on the benefits and safety of CBD and other hemp phytocannabinoids through rigorous scientific investigations such as this sleep and anxiety study,” says Orr. “We’re honored to team up with CU’s REACH Center to explore the potential impacts of full-spectrum hemp extract with CBD and CBN on anxiety and sleep quality.”

Long term, Charlotte’s Web expects this study will help build the foundation for future clinical studies to “better understand how specific ratios of cannabinoids and different delivery formats are effective at supporting improved sleep quality and instilling healthier sleep architecture in humans,” reads the press release.

Biros' Blog

Ground Control to Major Tom: Sending Hemp to Space

By Aaron G. Biros
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In March of this year, SpaceX CRS-20 cargo flight will carry tissue culture samples of hemp and coffee to the International Space Station (ISS). Floating in a most peculiar way, the stars look very different, that is, the day those hemp samples enter orbit.

Hemp tissue culture samples like these will sit in an incubator aboard the ISS come March

Front Range Biosciences (FRB) is partnering with Space Cells and the University of Colorado, Boulder, on an experiment to “examine zero gravity’s effects on the plants’ metabolic pathways,” according to a press release. FRB will provide the plant cultures, while Space Cells provides funding and intelligence, using the dedicated space aboard the ISS for Boulder’s program. The university will also train NASA astronauts how to transfer cells to an incubator and conduct the experiment.

More than 480 plant cell cultures are going to be placed in an incubator designed for space, which will regulate temperature among other variables for about 30 days aboard the ISS. There will be a “PlantCam” where folks at Boulder can monitor the cells from their command center. After those 30 days are over, the plants will return to earth where FRB researchers will inspect the samples and “evaluate their DNA to determine if microgravity and space radiation exposure altered their gene expression.”

Dr. Jon Vaught headshot
Dr. Jon Vaught, CEO of Front Range Biosciences

According to Dr. Jonathan Vaught, co-founder and CEO of Front Range Biosciences, the research results could help scientists identify new varieties or chemical expressions in the plant that were previously misunderstood. “This is the first time anyone is researching the effects of microgravity and spaceflight on hemp and coffee cell cultures,” says Dr. Vaught. “There is science to support the theory that plants in space experience mutations. This is an opportunity to see whether those mutations hold up once brought back to earth and if there are new commercial applications.”

Peter McCullagh, founder and managing partner of Space Cells, says the commercial applications for this experiment have a lot of potential. Learning how crops can thrive in a harsh environment could give researchers important information on how to deal with the effects of climate change on agriculture around the world. “We’ve been fortunate to be a leader in the new space industry and we’re excited to explore this new frontier with the team at Front Range Biosciences and University of Colorado, Boulder,” says McCullagh. “These are big ideas we’re pursuing and there’s a massive opportunity to bring to market new chemotypes, as well as plants that can better adapt to drought and cold conditions.”

This won’t be the only experiment either – the partnership wants to conduct a number of experiments that will study how to boost productivity and viability for crops in space. “We envision this to be the first of many experiments together,” says Louis Stodieck, director of BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “In the future, we plan for the crew to harvest and preserve the plants at different points in their grow-cycle so we can analyze which metabolic pathways are turned on and turned off. This is a fascinating area of study that has considerable potential.”

Hemp tissue cultures floating in a tin can, far above the world and all in the name of science and to determine if microgravity and space radiation exposure can alter gene expressions. No we’ve really made the grade.