NRX-1074

NRX-1074 (threonyl-prolyl-2R-(2-benzyl)-prolyl-threonine amide) is an orally-active experimental pharmaceutical and selective partial agonist of the glycine site of the NMDA receptor which is under investigation as a novel antidepressant drug. The drug was developed by Naurex for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Its mechanism of action and effects are similar to those of rapastinel (GLYX-13), which is under development as an adjunctive therapy for treatment-resistant depression also by Naurex, however NRX-1074 is hundredfold more potent by weight and, unlike GLYX-13, orally-active. NRX-1074 has shown rapid antidepressant effects in preclinical models of depression. In addition, similarly to GLYX-13, it is well-tolerated and lacks the schizophrenia-like psychotomimetic effects of other NMDA receptor antagonists such as ketamine.

As of 2015, an intravenous formulation of NRX-1074 is in a phase II clinical trial for MDD. Concurrently, an oral formulation is in phase I trials for MDD.

Dark Enlightenment

The Dark Enlightenment, or neoreactionary movement, or just neoreaction (abbreviated NRx by proponents), is an anti-democratic, reactionary movement that broadly rejects egalitarianism and Whig historiography. The movement favors a return to older societal constructs and forms of government, including support for monarchism and traditional gender roles, coupled with a libertarian or otherwise right-wing or conservative approach to economics. Some critics have labeled the movement as "neo-fascist".

A 2013 TechCrunch article describes the "Neoreactionary" "community of bloggers" as a term applied to, and sometimes a self-description of, an informal group of online political theorists who have been active since the 2000s.

Naming

The term "Dark Enlightenment" was coined by author and philosopher Nick Land as a satirical play on words for the knowledge supposedly gained from the Enlightenment and lost during the Dark Ages. His essay starts "Neo-reactionaries head for the exit."

NRX

NRX (National Research Experimental) was a heavy water moderated, light water cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which came into operation in 1947 at a design power rating of 10 MW (thermal), increasing to 42 MW by 1954. At the time of its construction it was Canada's most expensive science facility and the world's most powerful nuclear research reactor. NRX was remarkable both in terms of its heat output and the number of neutrons it generated. When a nuclear reactor is operating its nuclear chain reaction generates many billions of free neutrons, and in the late 1940s NRX was the most intense neutron source in the world.

NRX experienced one of the world's first major reactor accidents on 12 December 1952. The reactor began operation on 22 July 1947 under the National Research Council of Canada, and was taken over by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) shortly before the 1952 accident. The accident was cleaned up and the reactor restarted within two years. NRX operated for 45 years, being shut down permanently on 8 April 1993. It is currently undergoing decommissioning at the Chalk River Laboratories site.