Research chemical is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Updated 2026-06-21. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Proposed mechanisms center on modulation of the GABA system, but no single molecular target has been confirmed. Rodent studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and in the turnover of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in several brain regions. Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor have also been described after repeated administration. These findings come largely from animal models, and the degree to which they describe human neurochemistry remains an open question. The mechanism is best characterized as multi-system and not fully resolved.
Pharmacokinetic data are limited. Like most short peptides, Selank is vulnerable to plasma and tissue peptidases, and its measured half-life in circulation is short, on a minutes scale. The Pro-Gly-Pro tail slows this degradation but does not eliminate it. Intranasal administration is the route described in most reports, with absorption through the nasal mucosa and a hypothesized path into the central nervous system that avoids the blood-brain barrier. Direct measurements of human brain exposure are unavailable, so distribution claims rest on inference from animal work.
Clinical evidence comes mainly from small studies conducted in Russia, several of which were open-label or lacked robust blinding. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, changes in attention measures, and effects on asthenic states following illness. Sample sizes are typically in the tens of participants, and independent replication outside the region is scarce. Reviews published in English generally note the limited methodological quality of the underlying trials. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful effects under rigorous conditions remains unresolved.
Development took place at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where a series of short peptides were designed in the 1980s and 1990s. Selank was selected from variants of tuftsin that showed resistance to plasma peptidases. Russian regulatory approval covers it as an anxiolytic agent given intranasally. Outside that market the compound is normally handled as a research chemical rather than a medicine, and no widely recognised international pharmacopoeial monograph exists. The name Selank is a coined trade designation rather than a systematic chemical name.
Enzymatic stability motivates the extra three residues at the carboxyl end. Native tuftsin is cleaved quickly by circulating aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases, which limits its duration of action and its usefulness as a tool compound. Extending the chain with proline-rich segments is a common design tactic because proline constrains the backbone and slows proteolysis. The same Pro-Gly-Pro motif appears in other Russian-developed peptides of the era. Whether the full seven-residue chain is required for activity, or whether it acts mainly as a prodrug releasing tuftsin, remains unresolved.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Route studied | Intranasal | Predominant route in published reports |
| Circulation stability | Short, minutes scale | Peptidases cleave it; the tail slows the process |
| Analytical method | RP-HPLC with mass spectrometry | Used for identity and purity assessment |
| Reported outcome domains | Anxiety and cognitive measures | Derived from small, mostly regional trials |
| Regulatory status | Marketed in Russia | Availability outside that market is limited |
Selank is not a naturally occurring peptide and has no known endogenous counterpart in human physiology. Russian-language sources frequently call it TP-7, while English-language sources use the name Selank almost exclusively. Database indexing is uneven, partly because early reports appeared in regional journals that are not widely cataloged. Some summaries describe the material as a tuftsin analog and others as a synthetic heptapeptide; the labels overlap rather than conflict. Citing the primary sequence resolves ambiguity more reliably than the research or trade name alone.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, written TKPRPGP in one-letter notation. Its structure consists of the immunomodulatory tetrapeptide tuftsin, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg, extended at the carboxyl terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro segment. The molecular formula is commonly given as C33H57N11O9, corresponding to a monoisotopic mass near 751.4 Da and an average molecular mass near 751.9 Da. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, and the molecule carries no modified side chains or non-natural linkages.
The compound was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1980s and 1990s. The stated design goal was to retain the immunomodulatory and central nervous system activity attributed to tuftsin while improving resistance to enzymatic breakdown. Adding a proline-rich tail to the short parent peptide was a deliberate strategy, because proline residues restrict the conformations available to many peptidases. The same laboratory produced Semax, an ACTH fragment analog, and both compounds were developed in parallel as short, enzymatically stabilized peptides intended for intranasal use.
Identity and purity are usually assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with mass spectrometry used to confirm molecular mass and sequence information. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping may supplement these methods. Certified reference standards are scarce, and many commercial lots are sold as research chemicals without a pharmacopoeial monograph. Regulatory treatment differs by country: Selank is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while in the European Union and the United States it is not an approved drug and may fall under research-chemical or unapproved-product frameworks.
Selank is a hydrophilic peptide and dissolves readily in water and in aqueous buffers. The lyophilised powder is typically a white to off-white solid. Because short peptides are prone to hydrolysis and oxidation, handling benefits from limiting exposure to heat, moisture and strong light. Working solutions are commonly prepared in sterile water or saline, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided to reduce aggregation and loss of activity. These practices reflect general laboratory convention rather than published stability specifications.
Regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction. In Russia the compound is a registered prescription product, while in the European Union and the United States it is generally handled as a research chemical without a marketing authorization. Suppliers therefore operate outside pharmaceutical oversight, and buyers rely on supplier documentation for purity and identity claims. Chain of custody and third-party testing are the main verification tools. Analysts note that the absence of a pharmacopoeial monograph for research-grade material limits standardization across vendors.
Purity assessment relies mainly on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Because the peptide lacks a strong chromophore, detection often uses backbone absorbance near 214 nm. Identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry, typically electrospray ionization or matrix-assisted laser desorption, comparing the measured mass against the expected value. Amino acid analysis can verify composition after acid hydrolysis. Diastereomer content and residual counterions are reported less often, although both can influence biological assays.
Lyophilized material is generally stable for extended periods when kept dry at or below minus twenty degrees Celsius. Working solutions are less stable, and common practice is to aliquot and freeze them so that repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided. Aqueous solutions are sensitive to pH extremes and to microbial growth, so short-term storage at refrigerator temperature is typical. Oxidation and hydrolysis are the principal degradation routes. Reconstitution with sterile water or a mild buffer is standard, and solutions should be protected from light.
Current generation phones, called smartphones, have many functions besides making telephone calls, and therefore have several other radio transmitters and receivers that connect them with other networks: usually a Wi-Fi modem, a Bluetooth modem, and a GPS receiver.
DNA origami is the nanoscale folding of DNA to create arbitrary two- and three-dimensional shapes at the nanoscale. The specificity of the interactions between complementary base pairs makes DNA a useful construction material, through the design of its base sequences. DNA is a well-understood material that is suitable for creating scaffolds that hold other molecules in place or to create structures all on its own. DNA origami was the cover story of Nature on March 16, 2006. Since then, DNA origami has progressed past an art form and has found a number of applications from drug delivery systems to uses as circuitry in plasmonic devices; however, most commercial applications remain in a concept or testing phase.
==== Anger at political leaders ==== Resentment increased towards the country's leaders due to the perception that they were not troubled by the food security turmoil faced by ordinary citizens. In August 2008, Zhu Yonglan (祝詠蘭), Director of the State Council Central Government Offices Special Food Supply Centre (CGOSFSC), disclosed in a speech that her firm had been set up in 2004 to source high-quality, all-organic foodstuffs from farms working under the strictest guidelines, for supply to top political leaders, their families and retired cadres.
The first effect—the loss of AMP—is mostly significant because AMP contains ribose, a sugar molecule that is also used to make DNA, RNA, and some enzymes. Though the body can manufacture some ribose and obtain more from RNA-rich sources such as beans and red meat, this loss of ribose due to MADD is sometimes sufficient to create a shortage in the body, resulting in symptoms of severe fatigue and muscle pain. This outcome is especially likely if the individual regularly exercises vigorously or works physically over a period of weeks or months. The second effect, the absence of ammonia, is not well understood. It may result in a reduction of the amount of fumarate available to the citric acid cycle, and it may result in lower levels of nitric oxide (a vasodilator) in the body, reducing blood flow and oxygen intake during vigorous exercise, though this may be offset by increased levels of adenosine, another vasodilator. The third effect, the reduction in IMP, is also not well understood. It may somehow result in a reduction in the amount of lactic acid produced by the muscles, though serum lactate is typically slightly elevated with MADD. The following is a very simplified model of what may be going on inside a muscle cell with AMPD deficiency. There are two major semi-stable states: one with intra-cellular glycogen available, and one with glycogen exhausted. Both states are modified by how much the citric acid cycle is down-regulated by default. Start from the state where glycogen is available and the citric acid cycle is severely down-regulated.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tarlov cysts, also known as perineural cysts, are cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled lesions that most commonly develop in the sacral region of the spinal canal (S1–S5), and less frequently in the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine. These cysts form as dilations of the nerve root sheath near the dorsal root ganglion, specifically within the perineural space between the endoneurium and perineurium. A defining feature is that the cyst walls contain nerve fibers, which often line the inner cavity of the cyst itself. This involvement of neural elements distinguishes Tarlov cysts from other extradural meningeal cysts, such as meningeal diverticula, which do not contain nerve fibers. The etiology of these cysts is not well understood; some current theories explaining this phenomenon include increased spinal fluid pressure, filling of congenital cysts with one-way valves, and/or inflammation in response to trauma and disease. They are named after an American neurosurgeon Isadore Tarlov, who described them in 1938. These cysts are often detected during MRI or CT scans. They are also observed using magnetic resonance neurography with communicating subarachnoid cysts of the spinal meninges. Cysts with diameters of 1cm or larger are more likely to be symptomatic; although cysts of any size may be symptomatic dependent on location and etiology. Some 40% of patients with symptomatic Tarlov cysts can associate a history of trauma or childbirth.
=== AlphaCor === In cases where there have been several graft failures or the risk for keratoplasty is high, synthetic corneas can substitute successfully for donor corneas. Such a device contains a peripheral skirt and a transparent central region. These two parts are connected on a molecular level by an interpenetrating polymer network, made from poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (pHEMA). AlphaCor is a U.S. FDA-approved type of synthetic cornea measuring 7.0 mm in diameter and 0.5 mm in thickness. The main advantages of synthetic corneas are that they are biocompatible, and the network between the parts and the device prevents complications that could arise at their interface. The probability of retention in one large study was estimated at 62% at 2 years follow-up.
Even the shell structure in the nucleus and electron cloud of oganesson is strongly impacted by relativistic effects: the valence and core electron subshells in oganesson are expected to be "smeared out" in a homogeneous Fermi gas of electrons, unlike those of the "less relativistic" radon and xenon (although there is some incipient delocalisation in radon), due to the very strong spin–orbit splitting of the 7p orbital in oganesson. A similar effect for nucleons, particularly neutrons, is incipient in the closed-neutron-shell nucleus 302Og and is strongly in force at the hypothetical superheavy closed-shell nucleus 472164, with 164 protons and 308 neutrons. Studies have also predicted that due to increasing electrostatic forces, oganesson may have a semibubble structure in proton density, having few protons at the center of its nucleus. Moreover, spin–orbit effects may cause bulk oganesson to be a semiconductor, with a band gap of 1.5±0.6 eV predicted. All the lighter noble gases are insulators instead: for example, the band gap of bulk radon is expected to be 7.1±0.5 eV.
To develop organisms with novel or enhanced characteristics, this emerging field of study combines biology, engineering, and related disciplines' knowledge and techniques to design chemically synthesized DNA. Biomolecular engineering includes approaches that aim to create a toolkit of functional units that can be introduced to present new technological functions in living cells. Genetic engineering includes approaches to construct synthetic chromosomes or minimal organisms like Mycoplasma laboratorium. Biomolecular design refers to the general idea of de novo design and additive combination of biomolecular components. Each of these approaches shares a similar task: to develop a more synthetic entity at a higher level of complexity by inventively manipulating a simpler part at the preceding level. Optimizing these exogenous pathways in unnatural systems takes iterative fine-tuning of the individual biomolecular components to select the highest concentrations of the desired product. On the other hand, "re-writers" are synthetic biologists interested in testing the irreducibility of biological systems. Due to the complexity of natural biological systems, it would be simpler to rebuild the natural systems of interest from the ground up; to provide engineered surrogates that are easier to comprehend, control and manipulate. Re-writers draw inspiration from refactoring, a process sometimes used to improve computer software.
The vertical bars ("|") in the above list are not separators in the sense of the Backus–Naur form but are part of the format. Multiple identifiers can be concatenated, also separated by vertical bars.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is for this reason that we have taken the liberty of addressing this communication direct to you." After listing civilian witnesses who could confirm their allegations, Trooper Cochrane concluded, "Sir, many of us are Australians who have fought throughout nearly the whole war while others are Africaners who have fought from Colenso till now. We cannot return home with the stigma of these crimes attached to our names. Therefore we humbly pray that a full and exhaustive inquiry be made by Imperial officers in order that the truth be elicited and justice done. Also we beg that all witnesses may be kept in camp at Pietersburg till the inquiry is finished. So deeply do we deplore the opprobrium which must be inseparably attached to these crimes that scarcely a man once his time is up can be prevailed to re-enlist in this corps. Trusting for the credit of thinking you will grant the inquiry we seek." In response to the letter, Col. Hall summoned all Fort Edward officers to Pietersburg on 21 October. All were met by mounted infantry five miles outside Pietersburg on the morning of 23 October and "brought into town like criminals". Lt. Morant was arrested after returning from leave in Pretoria, where he had gone to settle the affairs of his deceased friend Captain Hunt.
BSA is used because of its ability to increase signal in assays, its lack of effect in many biochemical reactions, and its low cost, since large quantities of it can be readily purified from bovine blood, a byproduct of the cattle industry. Another use for BSA is that it can be used to temporarily isolate substances that are blocking the activity of the enzyme that is needed, thus impeding polymerase chain reaction (PCR). BSA has been widely used as a template to synthesize nanostructures and determining the toxic or beneficial effects of metal ions and their complexes. BSA is also the main constituent of fetal bovine serum, a common cell culture medium.
The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), also known as mammalian target of rapamycin, is a serine-threonine protein kinase that regulates cell growth, cell proliferation, cell motility, cell survival, protein synthesis, autophagy, and transcription. It belongs to the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase (PIKK) family and is evolutionarily conserved across eukaryotes. It also promotes the activation of insulin receptors and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptors.
The OECD publishes and updates a model tax convention that serves as a template for allocating taxation rights between countries. This model is accompanied by a set of commentaries that reflect OECD-level interpretation of the content of the model convention provisions. In general, this model allocates the primary right to tax to the country from which capital investment originates (i.e., the home, or resident country) rather than the country in which the investment is made (the host, or source country). As a result, it is most effective between two countries with reciprocal investment flows (such as among the OECD member countries), but can be unbalanced when one of the signatory countries is economically weaker than the other (such as between OECD and non-OECD pairings). Additionally, the OECD has published and updated the Transfer Pricing Guidelines since 1995. The Transfer Pricing Guidelines serve as a template for the profit allocation of inter-company transactions to countries. Pillar 1
== Epidemiology == Biliary atresia seems to affect females slightly more often than males, and Asians and African Americans more often than Caucasians. It is common for only one child in a pair of twins or within the same family to have the condition. There seems to be no link to medications or immunizations given immediately before or during pregnancy. Diabetes during pregnancy particularly during the first trimester seems to predispose to a number of distinct congenital abnormalities in the infant such as sacral agenesis, transposition of the great vessels and the syndromic form of biliary atresia.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reports describe effects on GABA-A receptor expression, monoamine turnover, and neurotrophic factor levels. These are proposed mechanisms drawn mainly from animal models. No single molecular target has been established.
Intranasal delivery is the route described in most published work. It is used because the peptide is degraded quickly once it reaches circulation. Direct evidence of brain penetration in humans is lacking.
Most trials are small, regionally concentrated, and often lack rigorous blinding or placebo control. Independent replication is limited. Reviews in English generally rate the evidence as preliminary.
Selank is a seven-amino-acid peptide built from the tuftsin sequence plus a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. It is produced by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from a natural source. The free peptide is usually supplied as a lyophilised powder or in an aqueous formulation.