Backbone Plain-language peptide science.
The library

Explainers

Everything we've published, newest first. Start with What a peptide actually is if you're new here — most of the rest assumes it.

Rows of glass laboratory flasks and beakers on a bench in a research lab
Foundations

What a peptide actually is

Amino acids, the amide linkage, and why the line between "peptide" and "protein" is a convention rather than a law of nature.

Nadia Okonkwo · 14 March 2026

Scientist in a white coat using a micropipette to fill a row of sample tubes
Foundations

The peptides your body already makes

Insulin, oxytocin, vasopressin, glucagon and the defensins — and why evolution keeps reaching for short chains when it needs to send a message.

Dr. Priya Raghunathan · 21 January 2026

Researcher reviewing printed data charts at a laboratory workstation
How research works

Reading a clinical-trial abstract without a PhD

Phase, n, primary endpoint, control arm, blinding. Six fields tell you most of what you need to judge a result — here's what each one means.

Dr. Priya Raghunathan · 9 December 2025

Pharmaceutical vials and blister packs arranged on a pale surface
Regulation & safety

Drug, supplement, or neither?

Why most peptides discussed online are none of the above. What the FDA's categories actually cover, and what "investigational" really means.

Nadia Okonkwo · 4 November 2025

Illustration of a twisted molecular helix rendered in blue and white
Myths & misconceptions

No, "peptide" is not a category of supplement

The word describes a chemical structure, not a product class or a health claim. Untangling one of the most durable misunderstandings we see.

Marcus Feld · 17 September 2025

Microscope on a laboratory bench with slides prepared beside it
How research works

From bench to bedside: the long middle

What happens between a promising cell-culture result and a drug anyone can be prescribed — and why the great majority never finish the trip.

Dr. Priya Raghunathan · 30 July 2025