2014 participants
Shane Bell
Cannabis abuse has become somewhat of a major problem among young people. Recently, synthetic versions of the drug known as “spice” have been circulated, with 10% of cannabis users having taken ‘spice’. It is largely unknown whether “spice” can cause similar damage or change to brain tissue as cannabis. Therefore WIN55, a commonly used form of ‘spice’ is added to cultures of human stem cells to determine whether WIN55 can cause reduction in their viability and inhibit survival. Also to see if WIN55 addition alters their gene expression, leading to modification of their differentiation into several types of mature neurons.
Funding Source: Newcastle University