Everything below concerns lyophilized powder. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2026-02-11. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It corresponds to the ACTH(4-7) fragment extended at the C-terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide, an addition intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and the molecular mass is approximately 814 daltons. In the literature it is often described as an ACTH(4-10) analog, although that label reflects a naming convention as much as a precise structural relationship. The compound was developed in Russia and remains most closely associated with that research tradition.
Laboratory descriptions of the material are consistent across suppliers. It appears as a white to off-white lyophilized powder that dissolves readily in water and in polar organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide. Aqueous solutions are clear and colorless at low concentrations. Because the peptide contains methionine, oxidation at the sulfur atom is a recognized degradation pathway, and handling notes usually call for protected, desiccated storage. Reported purity for research-grade lots is generally above 95 percent as measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
The compound is registered in Russia as a pharmaceutical product, most commonly formulated as a nasal solution, and has been used in that setting since the 1990s. Outside that jurisdiction it is generally handled as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Regulatory status therefore differs sharply between countries, and material sold internationally may not correspond to the Russian pharmaceutical formulation. Documentation with commercial samples is typically limited to a certificate of analysis covering purity and identity, not clinical status or local legal classification.
Identity and purity are commonly assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with ultraviolet detection near 214 nanometers for the peptide backbone. Mass spectrometry, either electrospray or matrix-assisted laser desorption, confirms molecular mass and detects truncation or modification products. Amino acid analysis can verify composition. Because the sequence contains no strongly absorbing aromatic residue apart from phenylalanine, detection wavelengths are chosen carefully. Purity values above 95 percent are typical for research-grade material.
Quality documentation for research-grade peptide usually includes a certificate of analysis stating purity, identity, and residual counterion content. Batch-to-batch variation in purity and salt form is a recognized issue, and comparisons across suppliers require attention to the exact counterion, for example acetate versus trifluoroacetate. Sequence verification by tandem mass spectrometry provides stronger evidence than a single mass measurement. For any study reporting biological results, the analytical method and the measured purity should be stated explicitly. Independent verification of supplier claims is considered good practice.
Semax is supplied as a lyophilized powder that appears white to off-white. It dissolves readily in water, phosphate-buffered saline, and other aqueous media, which simplifies preparation of working solutions for laboratory use. The nasal products registered in Russia are dilute aqueous solutions, typically around 0.1 percent peptide by weight. Organic solvents are rarely necessary and can complicate handling. Because the peptide is hygroscopic, weighing should be performed quickly and with minimal exposure to ambient humidity.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Contains one methionine sulfur atom |
| Molecular mass | Approximately 814 Da | Consistent with a seven-residue peptide |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized form |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Also soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide |
| Typical storage | -20 °C, desiccated | Limits methionine oxidation |
Clinical reports describe use in ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, optic nerve conditions, and cognitive complaints, but most of these studies are small and were conducted in a single region. Systematic reviews have generally described the evidence base as limited in size and variable in methodological quality. Randomised controlled data suitable for international regulatory assessment are scarce. As a result, major treatment guidelines outside Russia do not include the peptide, and interest in it remains largely research-driven rather than routine clinical.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It is described in the literature as an analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short N-terminal portion of adrenocorticotropic hormone that retains some neurotropic activity without the full hormonal effects of the parent peptide. The molecule carries a methionine residue at the N-terminus and two proline residues near the C-terminus, features that shape both its interactions with receptor systems and its chemical stability. The free peptide corresponds to the formula C37H51N9O10S and a molecular mass near 813.9 Da.
The compound was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, where it emerged from research on short ACTH fragments and their effects on the central nervous system. Russian pharmaceutical listings describe it as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent, most often formulated as nasal drops. It is not a marketed medicine in the United States or the European Union, and no pharmacopoeial monograph covers it. Consequently, most published clinical experience with the substance originates from a small number of research centres, mainly in Russia and neighbouring countries.
Claims about enhanced focus, memory, or mood in healthy people rest mostly on anecdotal reports and community discussion rather than on controlled data. It remains unclear whether any cognitive benefit observed in patients recovering from brain injury would extend to uninjured users. Dose-response relationships, long-term safety, and interactions with other drugs are not well characterized in the peer-reviewed literature. Questions about optimal route of administration and treatment duration likewise remain open.
Semax binds to melanocortin receptors and is thought to influence neuronal survival and plasticity rather than to act through the adrenal axis. Laboratory work has shown increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in treated tissue. Changes in c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, have also been reported. Because the peptide is rapidly degraded by peptidases, its effects are generally attributed to downstream signaling cascades rather than to sustained receptor occupancy.
=== Public opinion === A survey conducted in 2024 by the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies found that only 8% of Yemenis in Houthi-controlled areas had a positive view of the Houthi movement, compared to 3% in both government-controlled areas and contested areas. Conversely, 20%, 34%, and 39% in these areas, respectively, expressed negative views.
True Health Diagnostics was founded by Chris Grottenthaler in March 2014 in Frisco, Texas, a clinical laboratory company to sell and develop medical tests. Grottenthaler had formerly worked in private equity. True Health was CLIA certified in Texas in August 2014 and offered its first tests in October of that year. True Health hired several sales representatives who had worked for BlueWave, a contract sales organization. However, True Health did not hire any of the owners or leadership of BluWave In September 2015 True Health purchased the assets of a bankrupt competing company, Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. at a court-supervised auction for $37.1 million. HDL had around 550 employees in Richmond, Virginia, and had gone bankrupt after a $47 million settlement with the US Department of Justice over allegations that HDL had bribed doctors to send business its way; True Health assumed a corporate integrity agreement that HDL had signed as part of the settlement. HDL had run sales through BlueWave, and BlueWave had been named as a party in the DoJ Investigation; HDL had split with BlueWave in January 2015 during the investigation, and in April, before it filed for bankruptcy, HDL had tried to get a court to examine whether the former BlueWave employees working with True Health were interfering with HDL's business. As of November 2015 True Health had retained about 350 of HDL's employees in Richmond and was processing samples in HDL's former CLIA facility.
== External links == Emil Fischer on Nobelprize.org including his Nobel Lecture Nobel Lecture, 12 December 1902 Syntheses in the Purine and Sugar Group Eminent Chemists of Our Time By Benjamin Harrow pages 216–239, published 1920 by Von Nostrand Company at books.google.com. Aders Plimmer, R. H. (July 1907). "The work of Emil Fischer and his school on the chemistry of the proteins". Science Progress in the Twentieth Century. 2 (5): 88–120. Guide to the Emil Fischer Papers at The Bancroft Library Text-book of Physiological Chemistry in Thirty Lectures by Emil Abderhalden, translated by William Thomas Hall and George Defren; published 1908 by Wiley Company, has many technical references to Fischer's work in Chemistry. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1911 volume 2 by the American Medical Association also refers to Fischer's work. An Introduction to the History of Medicine: With Medical Chronology by Fielding Hudson Garrison, page 708 refers to Fischer and Merings discovery of the drugs veronal(1904) and proponal(1905), published 1921 by Saunders Company. 1914 Year Book of the American Pharmaceutical Association, page 438 abstracts Fischer and Strauss's work on Phenol-Glucosides – Synthetic Production from Berlin d.D Chem. Germany, page 45(1912) No. 12. Texts on Wikisource: "Fischer, Emil". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. "Fischer, Emil". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. "Fischer, Emil". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
=== European Commission fine === On 19 June 2013, the European Commission imposed a fine of €93.8 million on the Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, plus a total of €52.2 million on several generic pharmaceutical-producing companies. This was in response to Lundbeck entering an agreement with the companies to delay their sales of generic citalopram after Lundbeck's patent on the drug had expired, thus reducing competition in breach of European antitrust law.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Molecular sieve === Molecular sieve is a material containing tiny pores of a precise and uniform size that is used as an absorbent for gases and liquids. They are metal alumino silicates which have a crystalline structure consisting of an assembly of tetrahedral. The tetrahedral are made up of 4 oxygen atoms which occupy the summits surrounding either 1 silicon atom or an aluminium atom placed in the center. Compensating cations (sodium, potassium) make the hole electrically neutral. The hole forms an assembly of small cells (or pores) of uniform and known size, in which a molecule of smaller size can be trapped by the phenomenon known as absorption. To ensure the dehydration of the fresh natural flowers the mixture of organic solvents is poured onto the hole until the level exceeds the level of the flowers by about 2 cm (0.79 in). The water molecules are progressively absorbed into the small cells or pores of the molecular sieve. The receptacle is closed hermetically for a few days. Once dried, the flower reabsorbs a little moisture of atmospheric origin, and this increases its suppleness and its plasticity. As molecular sieve relates to the long-term preservation and treatment of cut flowers for long duration, (i.e., continually maintaining their decorative properties), Vermont Flowers has been using this method of preserving flowers instead of the traditional silica gel more than 20 years ago. The advantage was a much more professional regeneration of the molecular sieves.
=== Inscribed hexagon === If a tangential hexagon is formed by drawing three segments tangent to a triangle's incircle and parallel to a side, so that the hexagon is inscribed in the triangle with its other three sides coinciding with parts of the triangle's sides, then
Smaller communities of Hokkien speakers also existed, and many villages hosted more than one ethnolinguistic group. Today, communities of speakers of other Chinese varieties (such as Teochew, Sze Yap, Hokkien, and Shanghainese) also live in Hong Kong. Southeast Asian languages such as Tagalog and Malay-Indonesian speaking communities also live in Hong Kong. Other minority languages with significant speaker bases in Hong Kong include French, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindustani, Japanese, and Korean, among others.
=== Red blood cell transfusions === Blood transfusions are the main treatment approach for prolonging life. Donated healthy red blood cells have a functional life of 4 to 6 weeks before they wear out and are broken down in the spleen. Regular transfusions every three to four weeks are necessary in order to maintain hemoglobin at a healthy level. Transfusions come with risks including iron overload, the risk of acquiring infections, and the risk of immune reaction to the donated cells (alloimmunization).
α-Ketoglutaric acid (AKG) is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCO(CH2)2CO2H. A white, nontoxic solid, it is a common dicarboxylic acid. Relevant to its biological roles, it exists in water as its conjugate base α-ketoglutarate. It is also classified as a 2-ketocarboxylic acid. β-Ketoglutaric acid is an isomer. "Ketoglutaric acid" and "ketoglutarate", when not qualified as α or β, almost always refers respectively to α-ketoglutaric acid or α-ketoglutarate. α-Ketoglutarate is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, a set of cyclic reactions that supplies energy to cells. It is also an intermediate in or product of several other metabolic pathways. These include its being a component of metabolic pathways that: make amino acids and in the process regulate the cellular levels of carbon, nitrogen, and ammonia; reduce the cellular levels of potentially toxic reactive oxygen species; and synthesize the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). A large body of preclinical (i.e., conducted in animal models of disease or on animal or human tissues) research has been conducted on the role of endogenous (generated within the body) α-ketoglutarate. A small amount of preclinical research has been done to determine the effects of providing additional exogenous α-ketoglutarate to biological systems. There is currently no randomized controlled trials showing α-ketoglutarate to have any pharmacological (drug-like) effects on humans. The Food and Drug Administration classifies α-ketoglutaric acid as "503A Category 3: Bulk Drug Substances Nominated Without Adequate Support".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Determination of status === Even when the evolutionary origin of a particular coding sequence has been established, there is still a lack of consensus about what constitutes a genuine de novo gene birth event. One reason for this is a lack of agreement on whether or not the entirety of the sequence must be non-genic in origin. For protein-coding de novo genes, it has been proposed that de novo genes be divided into subtypes based on the proportion of the ORF in question that was derived from a previously noncoding sequence. Furthermore, for de novo gene birth to occur, the sequence in question must be a gene which has led to a questioning of what constitutes a gene, with some models establishing a strict dichotomy between genic and non-genic sequences, and others proposing a more fluid continuum. All definitions of genes are linked to the notion of function, as it is generally agreed that a genuine gene should encode a functional product, be it RNA or protein. There are, however, different views of what constitutes function, depending whether a given sequence is assessed using genetic, biochemical, or evolutionary approaches. The ambiguity of the concept of 'function' is especially problematic for the de novo gene birth field, where the objects of study are often rapidly evolving.
Myomesin-2, also known as M-protein, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MYOM2 gene. M-protein is expressed in adult cardiac muscle and fast skeletal muscle, and functions to stabilize the three-dimensional arrangement of proteins comprising M-band structures in a sarcomere.
Through the Luebering–Rapoport pathway bisphosphoglycerate mutase catalyzes the transfer of a phosphoryl group from C1 to C2 of 1,3-BPG, giving 2,3-BPG. 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, the most concentrated organophosphate in the erythrocyte, forms 3-PG by the action of bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase. The concentration of 2,3-BPG varies proportionately with the pH, since it is inhibitory to catalytic action of bisphosphoglycerate mutase. Under physiological conditions, the flux through the Rapoport-Luebering shunt is 19% of the main glycolytic flux.
Radon has no stable isotopes and no standard atomic weight. Thirty-nine radioactive isotopes have been characterized, with mass numbers ranging from 193 to 231. Six of them, from 217 to 222 inclusive, occur naturally. The most stable isotope is 222Rn (half-life 3.82 days), which is a decay product of 226Ra, the latter being itself a decay product of 238U. A trace amount of the (highly unstable) isotope 218Rn (half-life about 35 milliseconds) is also among the daughters of 222Rn. The isotope 216Rn would be produced by the double beta decay of natural 216Po; while energetically possible, this process has however never been seen. Three other radon isotopes have a half-life of over an hour: 211Rn (about 15 hours), 210Rn (2.4 hours) and 224Rn (about 1.8 hours). However, none of these three occur naturally. 220Rn, also called thoron, is a natural decay product of the most stable thorium isotope (232Th). It has a half-life of 55.6 seconds and also emits alpha radiation. Similarly, 219Rn is derived from the most stable isotope of actinium (227Ac)—named "actinon"—and is an alpha emitter with a half-life of 3.96 seconds.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of drugs like Adderall (a mixture of salts of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) in controlling symptoms associated with ADHD. Non-stimulants such as atomoxetine have also found to be effective. Due to their availability and fast-acting effects, substituted amphetamines are prime candidates for abuse.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia, where it is typically supplied as a nasal solution. In most other countries it is not an approved drug and is traded as a research chemical instead. Approval status depends entirely on the jurisdiction involved.
Most published work uses intranasal administration, matching the route of the registered Russian formulation. Some animal experiments use intravenous or intraperitoneal injection. The route matters because the intact peptide is cleared rapidly from blood, so exposure differs between methods.
A purity value describes the share of the powder accounted for by the target peptide, usually by high-performance liquid chromatography. It does not confirm that the sequence is correct, which requires mass spectrometry or amino acid analysis. Purity and identity are separate checks.
Solid peptide is best kept frozen at about minus 20 degrees Celsius in a sealed container with desiccant. It should be allowed to reach room temperature before opening to prevent condensation. Repeated warming and cooling of the same vial is discouraged.