Everything below concerns ACTH(4-10). We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2026-06-10. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Regulatory status differs sharply between jurisdictions. In Russia the peptide is registered as a prescription nasal preparation, while agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration have not approved it for any indication. Products sold elsewhere are typically labeled for laboratory research only, and such labels shift responsibility for safe handling to the purchaser. Because the same name covers pharmaceutical-grade nasal drops and bulk research powder, identity and purity documentation becomes the main practical concern when comparing sources.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide whose sequence extends the ACTH(4-10) fragment with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline tripeptide. The commonly cited sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, giving a molecular formula near C37H51N9O10S and a molecular weight close to 813.9 g/mol. It belongs to the broader class of synthetic ACTH fragments studied for central nervous system effects rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. In practice the material appears as a lyophilized white powder for laboratory work or as a dilute saline solution in clinical settings.
Development is attributed to researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow during the early 1980s, building on earlier Soviet work with ACTH fragments. Russian regulatory approval followed for intranasal use, and the compound has remained commercially available there for decades. Most published human data originate from Russian and, later, some Eastern European clinical reports, which are not always accessible in English translation. Outside that region the material is generally handled as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine.
Reported pharmacological work centers on neurotrophic signaling, including changes in BDNF and NGF expression in hippocampal tissue in animal models. Human data come largely from studies conducted in Russia, and how well those results generalize to other populations remains an open question. Regulatory status differs sharply by jurisdiction: Semax is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while it holds no approved marketing status in the United States or the European Union. Outside such jurisdictions it is generally handled as a research chemical, which affects both documentation and quality expectations.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was developed as a fragment analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, modeled specifically on the ACTH(4-10) region. The first four residues reproduce that fragment, while a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide is appended at the C-terminus. Work on the compound originated in Russia, where it entered clinical use as an intranasal preparation. Its sequence places it among short regulatory peptides studied for effects on the central nervous system rather than on the adrenal axis.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide (ACTH fragment analog) | Not a steroid; does not belong to the melanocortin agonist drugs by marketing category |
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S (commonly cited) | Reported values vary slightly with salt and counter-ion content |
| Appearance | White to off-white lyophilized powder | A single batch may appear as a loose cake or fluffy solid |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water and aqueous buffer | Stock solutions are usually prepared in sterile water or saline |
| Typical storage | −20 °C or below, desiccated and protected from light | Seal opened vials promptly to limit moisture uptake |
The parent fragment ACTH(4-10) carries the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly. Semax replaces the arginine and tryptophan positions with a proline-glycine-proline tail, giving Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. That change removes residues associated with adrenal stimulation, so the peptide does not drive cortisol release the way full ACTH does. This distinction shapes how the compound is grouped in the literature, where it sits with neuropeptides and peptide neuromodulators rather than with corticosteroids.
Regulatory status varies sharply by country. Semax is registered for medical use in Russia, where it appears in formularies as a nasal solution, and it also holds registration in a small number of neighbouring states. It has no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, and it is not a scheduled controlled substance in most jurisdictions. Elsewhere it circulates mainly as laboratory material, so purity documentation comes from suppliers rather than from a national pharmacopoeia.
Semax is a synthetic peptide created in the Soviet Union during the early 1980s by researchers working in Moscow. It was built from the short adrenocorticotropic hormone fragment known as ACTH(4-10), and the chain was then extended with three additional amino acids. The resulting molecule was named semax and entered clinical use in Russia in 1994. It is generally described as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent rather than as a hormone analogue.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was derived from the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone that lacks the hormonal activity associated with the full-length peptide. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow developed the compound during the 1980s. It has been registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia and several neighbouring countries, where it is supplied as a nasal solution, and it is also sold internationally as a research chemical.
The proposed mechanism centres on neurotrophic signalling rather than direct receptor activation. Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in several brain regions, and to shift the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Interaction with melanocortin receptors has been suggested because of the parent ACTH fragment. Many of these findings come from rodent studies, and the extent to which they translate to human physiology remains an open question.
For most of the history of wine, winemakers did not know the mechanism that somehow converted sugary grape juice into alcoholic wine. They could observe the fermentation process which was often described as "boiling", "seething" or the wine being "troubled" due to release of carbon dioxide that gave the wine a frothy, bubbling appearance. This history is preserved in the etymology of the word "yeast" itself which essentially means "to boil". In the mid-19th century, the French scientist Louis Pasteur was tasked by the French government to study what made some wines spoil. His work, which would later lead to Pasteur being considered one of the "Fathers of Microbiology", would uncover the connection between microscopic yeast cells and the process of the fermentation. It was Pasteur who discovered that yeast converted sugars in the must into alcohol and carbon dioxide, though the exact mechanisms of how the yeast would accomplish this task was not discovered till the 20th century with the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway. The yeast species commonly known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae was first identified in late 19th century enology text as Saccharomyces ellipsoideus due to the elliptical (as opposed to circular) shape of the cells. Throughout the 20th century, more than 700 different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified. The differences between the vast majority of these strains are mostly minor, though individual winemakers will develop a preference for particular strains when making certain wines or working with particular grape varieties.
Two types of dried lotus seeds can be found commercially; brown peel and white. The former is harvested when the seed head of the lotus is ripe or nearly ripe and the latter is harvested when the seed head is still fully green but with almost fully developed seeds. White lotus seeds are de-shelled and de-membraned. At harvest, the bitter-tasting germ of most seeds is removed using a hollow needle. Brown peel lotus seeds are brown because the ripened seed has adhered to its membrane. The germ of these hard seeds is removed by cracking the seeds in half. Dried lotus seeds past their prime oxidize to a yellow brown color. However, some sellers of dried lotus seeds bleach their products with hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, or other chemicals.
For instance, in 2002 a survey for the Federal Guild of German Stonemasons found that, depending on the location within Germany, from 0% to 43% of burials were anonymous. According to Christian Century magazine, the perspective of the Roman Catholic Church is that anonymous burials reflect a dwindling belief in God. Others claim that this trend is mainly driven by secularism and the high costs of traditional burials.
greater flexibility of meal times, carbohydrate quantities, and physical activities, and better glycemic control to reduce the incidence and severity of the complications of diabetes. Major disadvantages of intensive/flexible therapy are that it requires greater amounts of education and effort to achieve the goals, and it increases the daily cost for glucose monitoring four or more times a day. This cost can substantially increase when the therapy is implemented with an insulin pump and/or continuous glucose monitor. It is a common notion that more frequent hypoglycemia is a disadvantage of intensive/flexible regimens. The frequency of hypoglycemia increases with increasing effort to achieve normal blood glucoses with most insulin regimens, but hypoglycemia can be minimized with appropriate glucose targets and control strategies. The difficulties lie in remembering to test, estimating meal size, taking the meal bolus and eating within the prescribed time, and being aware of snacks and meals that are not the expected size. When implemented correctly, flexible regimens offer greater ability to achieve good glycemic control with easier accommodation to variations of eating and physical activity. A 2020 Cochrane systematic review did not find enough evidence of reduction of cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke when comparing insulin to metformin monotherapy.
Roughly one quarter of all zinc output in the United States in 2009 was consumed in zinc compounds; a variety of which are used industrially. Zinc oxide is widely used as a white pigment in paints and as a catalyst in the manufacture of rubber to disperse heat. Zinc oxide is used to protect rubber polymers and plastics from ultraviolet radiation (UV). The semiconductor properties of zinc oxide make it useful in varistors and photocopying products. The zinc zinc-oxide cycle is a two step thermochemical process based on zinc and zinc oxide for hydrogen production. Zinc chloride is often added to lumber as a fire retardant and sometimes as a wood preservative. It is used in the manufacture of other chemicals. Zinc methyl (Zn(CH3)2) is used in a number of organic syntheses. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) is used in luminescent pigments such as on the hands of clocks, X-ray and television screens, and luminous paints. Crystals of ZnS are used in lasers that operate in the mid-infrared part of the spectrum. Zinc sulfate is a chemical in dyes and pigments. Zinc pyrithione is used in antifouling paints. Zinc powder is sometimes used as a propellant in model rockets. When a compressed mixture of 70% zinc and 30% sulfur powder is ignited there is a violent chemical reaction. This produces zinc sulfide, together with large amounts of hot gas, heat, and light.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In the late 1940s, the geopolitics of the Eastern Bloc countries under Soviet predominance featured an official-and-personal style of socialist diplomacy that failed Stalin and Tito when Tito refused to subordinating Yugoslavia to the Soviet Union. In 1948, circumstance and cultural personality aggravated the matter into the Yugoslav–Soviet split (1948–1955) that resulted from Tito's rejection of Stalin's demand to subordinate the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia to the geopolitical agenda (economic and military) of the Soviet Union, i.e. Tito at Stalin's disposal. Stalin punished Tito's refusal by denouncing him as an ideological revisionist of Marxism–Leninism; by denouncing Yugoslavia's practice of Titoism as socialism deviated from the cause of world communism; and by expelling the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform). The break from the Eastern Bloc allowed the development of a socialism with Yugoslav characteristics which allowed doing business with the capitalist West to develop the socialist economy and the establishment of Yugoslavia's diplomatic and commercial relations with countries of the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc. Yugoslavia's international relations matured into the Non-Aligned Movement (1961) of countries without political allegiance to any power bloc. At the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became leader of the Soviet Union and of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and then consolidated an anti-Stalinist government.
Renin (etymology and pronunciation), also known as an angiotensinogenase, is an aspartic protease protein and enzyme secreted by the kidneys that participates in the body's renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), which increases the volume of extracellular fluid (blood plasma, lymph, and interstitial fluid) and causes arterial vasoconstriction. Thus, it increases the body's mean arterial blood pressure. Renin is not commonly referred to as a hormone, although it has a receptor, the (pro)renin receptor, also known as the renin receptor and prorenin receptor (see also below), as well as enzymatic activity with which it hydrolyzes angiotensinogen to angiotensin I.
== Health effects == Zinc pyrithione is approved for over-the-counter topical use in the United States as a treatment for dandruff and is the active ingredient in several anti-dandruff shampoos and body wash gels. In its industrial forms and strengths, it may be harmful by contact or ingestion. Zinc pyrithione can in the laboratory setting trigger a variety of responses, such as DNA damage in skin cells. Zinc pyrithione is classified as a CMR Category 1B reproductive toxicant in the European Union, leading to its prohibition or strict limitation in certain products within that jurisdiction. Research suggests the substance may induce oxidative stress, which has been associated in some studies with physiological changes in the male reproductive system, such as alterations to sperm quality and hormone levels.
== Function == As an isocitrate dehydrogenase, IDH1 catalyzes the reversible oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to yield α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) as part of the TCA cycle in glucose metabolism. IDH1 interacts with isocitrate and a divalent metal ion cofactor, typically Mg2+ or Mn2+, which plays a crucial role in stabilizing the negatively charged intermediates formed during the enzymatic reaction. It undergoes oxidation at the hydroxyl group on the C2 carbon, a reaction that removes electrons and produces oxalosuccinate. During this step, NAD(P)+ acts as an electron acceptor, transforming into NAD(P)H by gaining these electrons. Subsequently, oxalosuccinate undergoes decarboxylation, meaning it loses a carbon dioxide molecule, resulting in the formation of α-ketoglutarate. This step also allows for the concomitant reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+) to reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). Since NADPH and α-KG function in cellular detoxification processes in response to oxidative stress, IDH1 also indirectly participates in mitigating oxidative damage. In addition, IDH1 is key to β-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids in the peroxisomes of liver cells. IDH1 also participates in the regulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion. Notably, IDH1 is the primary producer of NADPH in most tissues, especially in brain. Within cells, IDH1 has been observed to localize to the cytoplasm, peroxisome, and endoplasmic reticulum.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Dye chemistry == Variations in colours of "Tyrian purple" from different snails are related to the presence of indigo dye (blue), 6-bromoindigo (purple), and the red 6,6'-dibromoindigo. Additional changes in colour can be induced by debromination from light exposure (as is the case for Tekhelet) or by heat processing. The final shade of purple is decided by chromatogram, which can be identified by high performance liquid chromatography analysis in a single measurement: indigotin (IND) and indirubin (INR). The two are found in plant sources such as woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) and the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria L), as well as in several species of shellfish. In 1998, by means of a lengthy trial and error process, a process for dyeing with Tyrian purple was rediscovered. This finding built on reports from the 15th century to the 18th century and explored the biotechnology process behind woad fermentation. It is hypothesized that an alkaline fermenting vat was necessary. An incomplete ancient recipe for Tyrian purple recorded by Pliny the Elder was also consulted. By altering the percentage of sea salt in the dye vat and adding potash, he was able to successfully dye wool a deep purple colour. Recent research in organic electronics has shown that Tyrian purple is an ambipolar organic semiconductor. Transistors and circuits based on this material can be produced from sublimed thin-films of the dye. The good semiconducting properties of the dye originate from strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding that reinforces pi stacking necessary for transport.
== International and political work == In October 1945, Orr was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow after standing as an Independent Progressive candidate. He was elected as an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for the Combined Scottish Universities in a by-election in April 1945, and kept his seat at the general election shortly after. He resigned in 1946. After the Second World War, Boyd Orr resigned from the Rowett Institute, and took several posts, most notably as Director-General of the United Nations' new Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Although his tenure in this position was short (1945–1948), he worked not only to alleviate the immediate postwar food shortage through the International Emergency Food Committee (IEFC) but also to propose comprehensive plans for improving food production and its equitable distribution. His proposal to create a World Food Board to increase price stability by way of large scale commodity storage. Although the board failed to get the support of Britain and the US, Boyd Orr laid a firm foundation for the new UN-specialized agency. He then resigned from the FAO and became director of a number of companies and proved a canny investor in the stock market, making a considerable personal fortune. When he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, he donated the entire financial award to organizations devoted to world peace and a united world government. He was elevated to the peerage in the 1949 New Year Honours as Baron Boyd-Orr, of Brechin Mearn in the County of Angus.
The new 33rd district, previously encompassing mostly Hispanic parts of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex including Downtown Fort Worth, western Dallas, and parts of Grand Prairie, Irving, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch, has since been redrawn to be exclusively within Dallas County. Prior to redistricting, the incumbent was Fort Worth-based Democrat Marc Veasey. However, Veasey was drawn out of the 33rd district and into the 25th, and ultimately chose to pursue a short-lived bid for Tarrant County judge before abandoning that bid. The new incumbent is Democrat Jasmine Crockett, who was elected with 84.9% of the vote in 2024, in her previous District 30; however, Crockett chose to pursue a run for the United States Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn. Former congressman and 2024 U.S. Senate nominee Colin Allred (who lost in the general election that year to Ted Cruz) and current 32nd District incumbent Julie Johnson ran for the Democratic nomination to represent this district, which is centered in Downtown and Uptown Dallas and also extends in four separate directions - northwest to Love Field and a northern section of Irving centered on the Valley Ranch area, northeast to the Swiss Avenue and Buckner Boulevard (east of White Rock Lake) corridors in east Dallas, southeast to southeast Dallas (including Pleasant Grove) and Balch Springs, and southwest to West Dallas as well as Cockrell Hill and central Grand Prairie. The new district gave 65.2% of the vote to Kamala Harris and 68.7% to Allred in 2024, and is over 50 percent Hispanic.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a short synthetic peptide built from seven amino acids: methionine, glutamic acid, histidine, phenylalanine and three prolines. The sequence derives from the 4-10 fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone with an added proline-glycine-proline tail. No plant or animal extract is involved; the material is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis.
It was developed in the Soviet Union during the early 1980s by groups at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. Russian approval for intranasal use followed, and it has been marketed there since. Western laboratories encountered it mainly through translated literature and, later, through online research-chemical trade.
It holds a Russian registration as a prescription nasal product but has no approval from the European Medicines Agency or the United States Food and Drug Administration. Buyers outside Russia usually receive material sold strictly for laboratory research. That distinction matters because research-grade and pharmaceutical-grade products carry different documentation and testing expectations.
The sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue peptide. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, and Pro-Gly-Pro is added at the C-terminus. N-acetylated versions also appear in the literature and differ in mass.