Everything below concerns thymalfasin. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2025-11-03. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
The peptide is generated in cells by cleavage of prothymosin alpha, a larger acidic protein encoded by the PTMA gene. Prothymosin alpha is expressed in many tissues, not only in the thymus, and its functions include nuclear roles in chromatin-related processes. The 28-residue fragment corresponds to the N-terminal portion of that precursor. How the cleavage occurs and how the fragment's concentration is regulated remain open questions; circulating amounts are small and difficult to measure reliably with routine assays.
Thymosin alpha 1 is a short peptide first isolated from bovine thymus tissue in the early 1970s during fractionation work aimed at identifying factors that influence T cell development. It belongs to a family of acidic thymic peptides, and the original preparations contained several components that were later separated by chromatography. The compound is now produced synthetically rather than extracted from tissue, which removes batch variability tied to animal sourcing. Researchers describe it as an immunomodulatory peptide because laboratory studies show effects on several cell types of the innate and adaptive immune systems.
Identity and purity are usually checked by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, which separates the intact chain from truncated products, together with mass spectrometry for confirmation of the expected mass. Peptide mapping after enzymatic digestion and amino acid analysis add sequence-level evidence. Release testing also covers water content, residual solvents, and counter-ions, all of which influence measured mass and stability. Related-peptide limits are commonly expressed as a percentage of total peak area, with individual unspecified impurities held below a lower threshold.
The lyophilized peptide is a white to off-white powder that dissolves freely in water and in aqueous buffers near neutral pH. Because the molecule carries a net negative charge under physiological conditions, saline and phosphate solutions are the usual vehicles, while strongly acidic media are avoided. Stock solutions are commonly divided into small aliquots so that repeated freezing and thawing can be limited, since cycling may encourage aggregation. Solubility in organic solvents is poor and those solvents are seldom used as primary diluents.
Recommended storage for the dry powder is a freezer near minus twenty degrees Celsius, kept desiccated and away from light. Once dissolved, the peptide is less stable and is usually held at two to eight degrees Celsius for short intervals or frozen for longer storage. Stability studies focus on the acetylated terminus and the disulfide linkage because those features define the intact molecule. Common degradation routes include cysteine oxidation, deamidation of asparagine or glutamine side chains, and slow formation of higher-molecular-weight species.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Acetylated peptide | N-terminal acetyl group blocks aminopeptidase attack |
| Residue count | 28 amino acids | Matches the N-terminus of prothymosin alpha |
| Molecular mass | About 3,108 Da | Value for the free, unmodified peptide |
| Isoelectric point | Approximately 4.2 | Acidic; net negative charge at neutral pH |
| Encoding gene | PTMA | Human gene for the precursor protein |
Within the immune system, the peptide acts on several cell types rather than a single target. Reported activities include promotion of T-cell maturation, enhancement of natural killer cell activity, and modulation of cytokine production by dendritic cells and macrophages. Some of these effects appear to operate through toll-like receptor signaling, though the precise receptor-level mechanism remains debated. Whether the observed immune changes translate into clinical benefit is a separate question and depends on the indication studied.
The peptide was described in the 1970s as a component of thymic extracts, and early research focused on restoring immune function in immunodeficiency states. A synthetic version entered clinical development in the 1980s and is approved as a drug in several countries for conditions such as chronic hepatitis B and certain immunodeficiencies. Approval status varies widely by jurisdiction, and in the United States it is not an approved therapeutic. Regulatory and clinical positions differ, so statements about efficacy should be tied to specific indications and studies.
Thymosin alpha-1 is a synthetic peptide of 28 amino acids, corresponding to the N-terminal fragment of prothymosin alpha. Its sequence begins with acetylation at the N-terminus, a modification that affects stability and receptor interaction. The peptide is acidic, with a calculated isoelectric point near 4.2, and carries no disulfide bonds, so its secondary structure is largely flexible in solution. Molecular mass is approximately 3108 daltons. The native form was first isolated from bovine thymus tissue, while pharmaceutical material is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis.
Identity and purity are assessed with a small set of standard peptide methods. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separates the main peak from truncated or oxidized species, and its area percentage is the usual purity measure. Mass spectrometry confirms the observed molecular mass against the expected value, while amino acid analysis or peptide mapping checks composition and sequence. Specifications for research-grade material are often stated as 95 percent or higher, though the exact limit depends on the supplier and the intended use.
Laboratory supplies of the peptide usually arrive as a lyophilized powder in sealed vials. The powder is hygroscopic, so a vial should be allowed to reach room temperature before it is opened to prevent condensation on the contents. Weighing and transfer are best performed in a low-humidity environment with clean tools. Once dissolved, the solution should be mixed gently rather than vortexed, because foaming and shear can reduce recovery of the peptide.
Biologically, the peptide is studied mainly in the context of immune cell development and regulation. It is produced in the thymus and in several other tissues, and it appears to influence the maturation and activity of T cells and other immune populations. Laboratory work describes effects on cytokine production, on the balance between T cell subsets, and on the function of dendritic cells. Much of this evidence comes from cell culture and animal models, so the extent to which the same pathways operate in humans remains an open question.
Clinical interest has centered on chronic viral hepatitis, on immune restoration in various conditions, and on use as an adjuvant intended to improve responses to vaccines. Trials have reported mixed results, and regulatory status differs sharply between countries; in some places it is a prescription product, while elsewhere it is sold without an approved therapeutic indication. Because published studies vary widely in design, population, and endpoints, comparisons across them are difficult and no single conclusion covers the whole literature.
==== Other terminal prostaglandin synthases ==== Terminal prostaglandin syntheses have been identified that are responsible for the formation of other prostaglandins. For example, two types of prostaglandin-D synthase, hematopoietic-type PGDS and lipocalin-type PGDS, are responsible for the formation of PGD2 from PGH2. Similarly, prostacyclin (PGI2) synthase (PGIS) converts PGH2 into PGI2. A thromboxane synthase (TxAS) has also been identified. Prostaglandin-F synthase (PGFS) catalyzes the formation of 9α,11β-PGF2α,β from PGD2 and PGF2α from PGH2 in the presence of NADPH. This enzyme has recently been crystallized in complex with PGD2 and bimatoprost (a synthetic analogue of PGF2α).
Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA; if the sugar is deoxyribose, a variant of ribose, the polymer is DNA. Nucleic acids are chemical compounds that are found in nature. They carry information in cells and make up genetic material. These acids are very common in all living things, where they create, encode, and store information in every living cell of every life-form on Earth. In turn, they send and express that information inside and outside the cell nucleus. From the inner workings of the cell to the young of a living thing, they contain and provide information via the nucleic acid sequence. This gives the RNA and DNA their unmistakable 'ladder-step' order of nucleotides within their molecules. Both play a crucial role in directing protein synthesis. Strings of nucleotides are bonded to form spiraling backbones and assembled into chains of bases or base-pairs selected from the five primary, or canonical, nucleobases. RNA usually forms a chain of single bases, whereas DNA forms a chain of base pairs. The bases found in RNA and DNA are: adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil. Thymine occurs only in DNA and uracil only in RNA.
== Food storage and preservation == Food storage and preservation is a key component of food engineering processes and relies heavily on biological engineering to understand and manipulate the organisms involved. Note that the above food safety processes such as pasteurization and sterilization destroy the microorganisms that also contribute to deterioration of food products while not necessarily posing a risk to people. Understanding of these processes, their effects, and the microorganisms at play in various food processing techniques is a very important biological engineering task within food engineering. Factories and processes must be created to ensure that food products can be processed in an efficient and effective manner, which again relies heavily on biological engineering expertise.
== Road traffic death rate == The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 reported Thailand as having the world's sixth highest "estimated road traffic death rate per 100,000 population" (2016 figures). Four of the top death rates occur in African nations. They, and the Dominican Republic, are the only countries to exceed Thailand's death rate. Among ASEAN nations, Thailand was ranked one, with 32.7 deaths per 100,000 persons; Vietnam, 26.4; Malaysia, 23.6; Myanmar, 19.9; Cambodia, 17.8; Laos, 16.6; Philippines, 12.3; Indonesia, 12.2; Singapore, 2.8. Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015: Thailand has an "Estimated Road Traffic Death Rate" of 36.2 persons per 100,000 population, ranked 2 of 180 countries (1: worst, 180: best). Seventy-three percent of fatalities involved two- or three-wheeled motorized vehicles. In other ASEAN countries, corresponding death rates were: Vietnam, 24.5; Malaysia, 24; Myanmar, 20.3; Cambodia, 17.4; Indonesia, 15.3; Laos, 14.3; Philippines, 10.5; Singapore, 3.6.
=== Protein immobilization === Cyanogen bromide is often used to immobilize proteins by coupling them to reagents such as agarose for affinity chromatography. Because of its simplicity and mild pH conditions, cyanogen bromide activation is the most common method for preparing affinity gels. Cyanogen bromide is also often used because it reacts with the hydroxyl groups on agarose to form cyanate esters and imidocarbonates. These groups are reacted with primary amines in order to couple the protein onto the agarose matrix, as shown in the figure. Because cyanate esters are more reactive than are cyclic imidocarbonates, the amine will react mostly with the ester, yielding isourea derivatives, and partially with the less reactive imidocarbonate, yielding substituted imidocarbonates. The disadvantages of this approach include the toxicity of cyanogen bromide and its sensitivity to oxidation. Also, cyanogen bromide activation involves the attachment of a ligand to agarose by an isourea bond, which is positively charged at neutral pH and thus unstable. Consequently, isourea derivatives may act as weak anion exchangers.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It has been claimed that Russian security services organized a number of denial of service attacks as a part of their cyber-warfare against other countries, most notably the 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia and the 2008 cyberattacks on Russia, South Ossetia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. One identified young Russian hacker said that he was paid by Russian state security services to lead hacking attacks on NATO computers. He was studying computer sciences at the Department of the Defense of Information. His tuition was paid for by the FSB. Russian, South Ossetian, Georgian and Azerbaijani sites were attacked by hackers during the 2008 South Ossetia War. In October 2016, Jeh Johnson the United States Secretary of Homeland Security and James Clapper the U.S. Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement accusing Russia of interfering with the 2016 United States presidential election. The New York Times reported the Obama administration formally accused Russia of stealing and disclosing Democratic National Committee emails. Under U.S. law (50 U.S.C.Title 50 – War and National Defense, Chapter 15 – National Security, Subchapter III Accountability for Intelligence Activities) there must be a formal Presidential finding prior to authorizing a covert attack. Then U.S. vice president Joe Biden said on the American news interview program Meet The Press that the United States will respond. The New York Times noted that Biden's comment "seems to suggest that Mr. Obama is prepared to order – or has already ordered – some kind of covert action".
== Modes of delivery == There are three general categories of DNA construct delivery: physical, chemical, and viral. Physical methods, which deliver the DNA by physically penetrating the cell, include microinjection, electroporation, and biolistics. Chemical methods rely on chemical reactions to deliver the DNA and include transformation with cells made competent using calcium phosphate as well as delivery via lipid nanoparticles. Viral methods use a variety of viral vectors to deliver the DNA, including adenovirus, lentivirus, and herpes simplex virus
==== Absorption ==== When taken orally, DMT is metabolized by monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes in the liver and gut, and is thus not orally bioavailable unless a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) is taken (as is naturally found in the ayahuasca brew). As such, DMT by itself is instead taken by parenteral administration. Closely coextending with peak psychedelic effects, the mean time to reach peak concentration (Tmax) has been determined to be 10 to 15 minutes in whole blood after intramuscular injection, and 2 to 3 minutes after intravenous administration. When taken orally mixed in an ayahuasca decoction or in freeze-dried ayahuasca gel caps, DMT Tmax is considerably delayed to 1.8 hours on average, and 1.5 to 2 hours, respectively. DMT peak level concentrations (Cmax) measured in the blood after intramuscular (IM) injection (0.7 mg/kg, n = 11) and in plasma following intravenous administration (0.4 mg/kg, n = 10) of fully psychedelic doses are in the range of around 14 to 154 μg/L and 32 to 204 μg/L, respectively. The corresponding molar concentrations of DMT are therefore in the range of 0.074–0.818 μmol/L in whole blood and 0.170–1.08 μmol in plasma.
Produced by Robert Eagle, directed by Patrick Fleming, made by Eagle & Eagle, with The Learning Channel. Shown on TLC in 1999 20 September Do Parents Matter?, about the psychological needs of children; the psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan; the book The Nurture Assumption by Judith Rich Harris argued that a child's associates shaped their personality, as seen most commonly in their teenage years; teenage subdivisions in the USA - the 'populars' and the 'jocks'; at university, Judith Harris had her study stopped by the famous psychology academic George Armitage Miller; Thomas J. Bouchard Jr. at the University of Minnesota and his study of separated identical twins and the effect of genes, which he estimated to be around 50%; the effect of the home was thought to account for the other 50%, but psychologists did not find anything like that; work by psychologist Carolyn Rovee-Collier; primatology and work by Frans de Waal; childhood studies by William Corsaro influenced findings; the 'normals' teenage subdivision; the 1953 Asch conformity experiments on teenagers by psychologist Solomon Asch, with five stooges in a group of six teenagers that would often exert group influence over the sixth teenager, helped findings; a similar effect was deployed in the Candid Camera series, to convince people; the 'skaters' teenage subdivision; further studies on conformity in the Stanford prison experiment of 1971 by Philip Zimbardo - the BBC made the 2002 documentary The Experiment; the 'loners' teenage subdivision.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Kahala, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, announced in February 2009 that it had reached an agreement with Tim Hortons to open up to 100 co-branded stores in the United States after successfully testing two locations in Rhode Island. The most notable co-branded store opened in August 2009 when Tim Hortons moved into three Cold Stone Creamery locations in New York City, including its flagship Times Square location. In June 2009, Cold Stone Creamery started testing the Canadian market by opening its six co-branded locations with Tim Hortons in Ontario, and began expanding its test markets in Canada, including Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and British Columbia, and in the summer of 2010, Cold Stone Creamery moved into six Tim Hortons locations in Quebec and one in each of Charlottetown, and Summerside, PEI. However, in February 2014, Tim Hortons chief executive Marc Caira announced that they will be pulling Cold Stone Creamery from all its Canadian restaurants, although Tim Hortons would maintain its locations in the United States.
Carbon dioxide was the first gas to be described as a discrete substance. In about 1640, the Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont observed that when he burned charcoal in a closed vessel, the mass of the resulting ash was much less than that of the original charcoal. His interpretation was that the rest of the charcoal had been transmuted into an invisible substance he termed a "gas" (from Greek "chaos") or "wild spirit" (spiritus sylvestris). The properties of carbon dioxide were further studied in the 1750s by the Scottish physician Joseph Black. He found that limestone (calcium carbonate) could be heated or treated with acids to yield a gas he called "fixed air". He observed that the fixed air was denser than air and supported neither flame nor animal life. Black also found that when bubbled through limewater (a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide), it would precipitate calcium carbonate. He used this phenomenon to illustrate that carbon dioxide is produced by animal respiration and microbial fermentation. In 1772, English chemist Joseph Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he described a process of dripping sulfuric acid (or oil of vitriol as Priestley knew it) on chalk in order to produce carbon dioxide, and forcing the gas to dissolve by agitating a bowl of water in contact with the gas. Carbon dioxide was first liquefied (at elevated pressures) in 1823 by Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday.
== Prognosis == Gestational diabetes generally resolves once the baby is born. Based on different studies, the chances of developing GDM in a second pregnancy, if a woman had GDM in her first pregnancy, are between 30 and 84%, depending on ethnic background. A second pregnancy within one year of the previous pregnancy has a large likelihood of GDM recurrence. Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus in the future. The risk is highest in women who need insulin treatment, had antibodies associated with diabetes (such as antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase, islet cell antibodies, or insulinoma antigen-2), have had more than two previous pregnancies, and women who were obese (in order of importance). Women requiring insulin to manage gestational diabetes have a 50% risk of developing diabetes within the next five years. Depending on the population studied, the diagnostic criteria and the length of follow-up, the risk can vary enormously. The risk appears to be highest in the first 5 years, reaching a plateau thereafter. One of the longest studies followed a group of women from Boston, Massachusetts; half of them developed diabetes after 6 years, and more than 70% had diabetes after 28 years. In a retrospective study in Navajo women, the risk of diabetes after GDM was estimated to be 50 to 70% after 11 years. Another study found a risk of diabetes after GDM of more than 25% after 15 years.
The Cats went 21–1 to claim the McClelland Trophy four games ahead of their nearest challenger, Hawthorn. After relatively easy wins against St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs in the finals, Geelong under Thompson were into their second straight grand final, this time against Hawthorn, and were again hot favourites. In an upset, though, Hawthorn beat Geelong under Thompson by 26 points in front of 100,012 fans in the 2008 AFL Grand Final. During an end-of-season holiday to New York that year, Thompson ran into Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy whilst inside a hotel. They were said to have drowned their sorrows following their respective Grand Final losses (Bellamy's Melbourne Storm lost the 2008 NRL Grand Final to Manly). In the 2009 season, following a heartbreaking loss to Hawthorn in the 2008 Grand Final Premiership decider, Geelong under Thompson compiled an 18–4 record during the minor round and disposed of the Western Bulldogs and then Collingwood during the finals series. On 26 September 2009 in the 2009 AFL Grand Final, Geelong under Thompson faced a St Kilda side determined to break its 43-year Premiership drought. In front of 99,251 fans on a rain-soaked MCG deck, the Cats under Thompson clawed their way back after trailing at every break to win the AFL premiership by 12 points. This would be Geelong's second flag under Thompson in three years cementing their place as one of the great teams of the modern era. Thompson as always was magnanimous in victory and accepted the AFL Premiership trophy alongside Geelong legend Bob Davis.
=== Peripheral half-life === Some substances may have different half-lives in different parts of the body. For example, oxytocin has a half-life of typically about three minutes in the blood when given intravenously. Peripherally administered (e.g. intravenous) peptides like oxytocin cross the blood-brain-barrier very poorly, although very small amounts (< 1%) do appear to enter the central nervous system in humans when given via this route. In contrast to peripheral administration, when administered intranasally via a nasal spray, oxytocin reliably crosses the blood–brain barrier and exhibits psychoactive effects in humans. In addition, unlike the case of peripheral administration, intranasal oxytocin has a central duration of at least 2.25 hours and as long as 4 hours. In likely relation to this fact, endogenous oxytocin concentrations in the brain have been found to be as much as 1000-fold higher than peripheral levels.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Thymosin fraction 5 is a mixture of many peptides obtained from thymus tissue, while thymosin alpha 1 is a single defined 28-residue molecule. The two names appear together in older literature because the purified peptide was first obtained from that mixture.
The precursor, prothymosin alpha, is encoded by the PTMA gene in humans. The 28-residue peptide corresponds to the N-terminal segment released from that larger protein.
It is produced as a fragment of prothymosin alpha and is present in many tissues. Circulating concentrations are low, which makes routine measurement difficult.
Reconstituted solutions are typically kept refrigerated at two to eight degrees Celsius when used within a short window, or frozen in aliquots for longer periods. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided because they can reduce recovery of intact peptide.