If you have been reading about ergogenic aid and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Last reviewed on 2026-05-11. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
The compound was identified in the nineteenth century after chemists isolated a nitrogenous substance from meat extracts. Later work established its role in muscle energy metabolism and its conversion to phosphocreatine. Chemical synthesis of creatine followed, and industrial production made the monohydrate widely available as a purified powder. Interest expanded in the late twentieth century when researchers began studying creatine supplementation and muscle physiology. Historical accounts sometimes differ on exact dates and attributions, but the broad sequence from tissue extracts to synthetic production is well documented.
In the body, creatine is obtained from dietary meat and fish and is also synthesized from arginine, glycine, and methionine. Muscle stores creatine and phosphocreatine, which participate in the rapid regeneration of adenosine triphosphate during short, intense activity. The monohydrate form is used in research because it is chemically defined, stable as a dry solid, and relatively inexpensive to produce. Questions remain about whether other creatine forms offer meaningful advantages in absorption or tissue retention, and findings vary across studies and populations.
Creatine monohydrate is a crystalline compound formed from creatine and one molecule of water. Creatine itself is a nitrogen-containing organic acid that occurs in vertebrate muscle and other tissues. The monohydrate designation refers to the water included in the crystal lattice, not to water added during manufacturing. Its chemical formula is commonly written as C4H9N3O2·H2O. The solid is typically a white, odorless powder with low solubility in water at room temperature. It is one of several creatine forms described in scientific and commercial literature.
Creatine monohydrate is a crystalline compound formed from creatine and one molecule of water. Its systematic name is N-(aminoiminomethyl)-N-methylglycine monohydrate, and it appears as a white, odorless powder with limited solubility in water. The monohydrate is the most common solid form used in research and commercial products because it is stable under dry conditions. The anhydrous form lacks the water of crystallization and differs slightly in molar mass. Both forms participate in the same biochemical reactions once dissolved.
In the body, creatine is synthesized from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine, primarily in the liver and kidneys. It is transported to muscle and other tissues, where it is phosphorylated to phosphocreatine by creatine kinase. This phosphagen system provides a rapid source of adenosine triphosphate during short, intense contractions. Dietary creatine comes mainly from meat and fish, and the body's total pool is influenced by both synthesis and intake.
As a supplement, creatine monohydrate is studied for its effects on muscle performance and recovery. The compound is often described as an ergogenic aid, meaning it may support physical work capacity. Research typically compares it with placebo or other forms, such as citrate or nitrate, under controlled conditions. Questions remain about the optimal dose and long-term effects in different populations, and findings are not uniform across all studies. The monohydrate form remains the most extensively tested.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical formula | C4H9N3O2·H2O | Monohydrate includes one water molecule per creatine molecule |
| Molar mass | 149.15 g/mol | Value for the monohydrate; anhydrous creatine is about 131.13 g/mol |
| Appearance | White crystalline powder | Odorless or nearly odorless in purified form |
| Solubility in water | About 13 g/L at 25 °C | Solubility increases with temperature and varies with pH |
| Common synonyms | Creatine hydrate; N-(aminoiminomethyl)-N-methylglycine | Monohydrate distinguishes it from anhydrous creatine |
AlphaFold 2 scoring more than 90 in CASP's global distance test (GDT) was considered a great achievement in computational biology. Nobel Prize winner and structural biologist Venki Ramakrishnan called the result "a stunning advance on the protein folding problem", adding that "It has occurred decades before many people in the field would have predicted. It will be exciting to see the many ways in which it will fundamentally change biological research." AlphaFold 2's success received wide media attention. News pieces appeared in the science press, such as Nature, Science, MIT Technology Review, and New Scientist, and the story was covered by national newspapers. A frequent theme was the ability to predict protein structures based on the constituent amino acid sequence, expected to have benefits in the life sciences—accelerating drug discovery and enabling better understanding of diseases. Some have noted that even a perfect answer to the protein prediction problem still leaves questions about the protein folding problem (and thus protein dynamics)—understanding in detail how the folding process actually occurs in nature (and how sometimes they can also misfold).
The two got official approval from Valve to release Sven Co-op on Steam as a standalone title in 2012, though opted to wait nearly a year to announce this in July 2013 to give their team time to develop a hotfix for the current version of the mod. This standalone title was released on January 22, 2016, and includes all the assets for Half-Life required to play that game without installing the original game; players are still required to have purchased and installed Opposing Force and Blue Shift to play those in the standalone release of Sven Co-op. The standalone version includes updated versions of the Half-Life campaign maps, improved versions of popular maps developed for Sven Co-op, and additional scripting tools that will allow level designers to further customize new maps beyond the default GoldSrc. McDermott stated that their team anticipates continuing to improve tools for level designers, such as being able to replace the game's default heads-up display, though as the game is still developed in the team's free time, there is no information on when these will be available.
== Side effects == Side effects of fentanyl analogs are similar to those of fentanyl itself, which include itching, nausea, and potentially serious respiratory depression, which can be life-threatening. Fentanyl analogs have killed hundreds of people throughout Europe and the former Soviet republics since the most recent resurgence in use began in Estonia in the early 2000s, and novel derivatives continue to appear. A new wave of fentanyl analogues and associated deaths began in around 2014 in the US, and have continued to grow in prevalence; especially since 2016 these drugs have been responsible for hundreds of overdose deaths every week.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The US Air Force participated amid the campaign on 15 October 2025 when airmen flew B-52 Stratofortress ("a long-range, heavy bomber that can carry precision-guided ordnance or nuclear weapons") north of Caracas for two hours, joining F-35B Lightning II from the Marines, in a "bomber attack demonstration mission", according to Task & Purpose. On 23 October, at least two US Air Force B-1B Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, supported by KC-135 tankers from MacDill Air Force Base and an unknown type variant of RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, conducted a flyby reportedly within 50 miles (80 km) of the Venezuelan mainland. When asked at a press conference about the B-1 flyby, Trump denied that the event had occurred. Also on 23 October, an Air Force E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft was observed operating near Puerto Rico. According to a visual investigation report by The New York Times, satellite imagery and other data revealed the US began operating aircraft out of El Salvador in mid-October. Reuters reported in November that the US military began construction to renovate Roosevelt Roads, a naval base in Puerto Rico that was abandoned in 2004. Upgrades include taxiway improvements that "would enable use by fighter jets as well as cargo planes", according to analysts. Changes were also observed at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Puerto Rico and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, a civilian airport on the nearby island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
== History == The existence of the ribosomal tunnel became apparent in the 1960s. When the nascent protein was exposed to hydrolytic enzymes, part of the protein was protected from hydrolysis, supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a tunnel that shields part of the protein. The tunnel was then identified in the large subunit of the ribosome by cryogenic electron microscopy. Crucial information about the existence of the tunnel was provided by atomically resolved structures of the large ribosomal subunit determined by X-ray crystallography by the research group of Thomas Steitz. In 2009, Thomas Steitz, along with A. Yonath and V. Ramakrishnan, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their research on the ribosome. The initial view that the tunnel is merely an inert environment through which the nascent polypeptide exits the ribosome has been abandoned based on numerous studies. Today, it is believed that the tunnel is actively involved in regulating translation and maintaining homeostasis.
This thus favors a shift towards Th2 dominance and the release of the cytokines listed above which results in Th2 dominance and favors the 'humoral' B-cell mediated antibody immune response. Cortisol also has a negative-feedback effect on IL-1. The way this negative feedback works is that an immune stressor causes peripheral immune cells to release IL-1 and other cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha. These cytokines stimulate the hypothalamus, causing it to release corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH in turn stimulates the production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) among other things in the adrenal gland, which (among other things) increases production of cortisol. Cortisol then closes the loop as it inhibits TNF-alpha production in immune cells and makes them less responsive to IL-1. Through this system, as long as an immune stressor is small, the response will be regulated to the correct level. In general, the hypothalamus uses cortisol to reduce the response once the production of cortisol matches the stress induced on the immune system.
==== United Kingdom ==== On October 18, 2012, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in the United Kingdom released a report about methoxetamine, saying that the "harms of methoxetamine are commensurate with Class B of the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971)", despite the fact that the act does not classify drugs based on harm. The report went on to suggest that all analogues of MXE should also become class B drugs and suggested a catch-all clause covering both existing and unresearched arylcyclohexamines, including 3-HO-PCP.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Cancer-related === Translationally controlled tumor protein has a role in tumor reversion and development. TCTP is a regulator of the cancer stem cell compartment, the tumor reversion, tumor progression and certain forms of inflammatory diseases. Moreover, TCTP was described as a pro-survival protein antagonizing BAX function.
== Life cycle == The eggs hatch 4 to 19 days after the female oviposits. During the larval stage, the mealworms feed on vegetation and dead insects, and molt between each larval stage, or instar (9 to 20 instars). After the final molt, they pupate. The new pupa is whitish and turns brown over time. After 3 to 30 days, depending on environmental conditions such as temperature, it emerges as an adult beetle.
==== Antiandrogenic activity ==== Bicalutamide acts as a highly selective competitive silent antagonist of the AR (IC50Tooltip half-maximal inhibitory concentration = 159–243 nM), the major biological target of the androgen sex hormones testosterone and DHTTooltip dihydrotestosterone, and hence is an antiandrogen. The activity of bicalutamide lies in the (R)-isomer. Due to its selectivity for the AR, bicalutamide does not interact importantly with other steroid hormone receptors and hence has no clinically relevant off-target hormonal activity (e.g., progestogenic, estrogenic, glucocorticoid, antimineralocorticoid). However, it has been reported that bicalutamide has weak affinity for the progesterone receptor (PR), where it is an antagonist, and hence it could have some antiprogestogenic activity. Bicalutamide does not inhibit 5α-reductase nor is known to inhibit other enzymes involved in androgen steroidogenesis (e.g., CYP17A1). Although it does not bind to the estrogen receptors (ERs), bicalutamide can increase estrogen levels secondarily to AR blockade when used as a monotherapy in males, and hence can have some indirect estrogenic effects in males. Bicalutamide neither suppresses nor inhibits androgen production in the body (i.e., it does not act as an antigonadotropin or androgen steroidogenesis inhibitor or lower androgen levels) and hence exclusively mediates its antiandrogenic effects by antagonizing the AR.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a crystalline form of creatine that contains one water molecule per creatine molecule. The compound occurs naturally in muscle tissue and is also produced synthetically for research and consumer products. The monohydrate label describes the solid's hydration state.
Creatine monohydrate contains creatine, but the two terms are not strictly interchangeable. The monohydrate includes water in the crystal, while creatine refers to the base molecule. Other creatine forms pair the molecule with different acids or carriers.
Dietary creatine is found mainly in meat and fish. The human body also synthesizes creatine from amino acids in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The monohydrate powder used in products is manufactured rather than extracted directly from food.
It is a compound made of creatine bound to one water molecule. It appears as a white crystalline powder and is the most common solid form of creatine used in research and supplements.