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Ricin (/ ˈ r aɪ s ɪ n / RY-sin) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis.The median lethal dose (LD 50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight via intraperitoneal injection.
The Wood Green ricin plot was an alleged bioterrorism plot to attack the London Underground with ricin poison. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested six suspects on 5 January 2003, [1] [2] with one more arrested two days later.
During the raid on the homes of a man and son in June 2009, a very small amount of ricin was allegedly found in a sealed jam jar kept in a kitchen cupboard. A father and son, Ian and Nicky Davison were arrested under the 2000 Terrorism Act. The arrests followed a long-running intelligence-led operation against extreme right-wing activity. [27]
It can serve as a biomarker of ricin poisoning. [3] [4] It was first isolated from the castor seeds by Tuson in 1864. [5] [6] Ricinine has insecticidal effects. [7] It sublimes between 170 and 180 °C at 20 mmHg. It does not form salts, and is precipitated in iodine or mercuric chloride solutions, but not in Mayer's reagent. [5]
On April 17, 2013, an envelope addressed to President of the United States Barack Obama preliminarily tested positive for ricin. [4] Both letters, which were mailed from Memphis, Tennessee, [5] included the phrases "No one wanted to listen to me before. There are still 'Missing Pieces.' Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone ...
Tea is to England what beer and hot dogs are to America. But as ingrained as tea is in the fabric of British culture, it takes a history lesson to explain how the drink actually became so popular.
The 2003 ricin letters were two ricin-laden letters found on two occasions between October and November 2003. One letter was mailed to the White House and intercepted at a processing facility; another was discovered with no address in South Carolina.
Is the density of ricin so low that a pinhead-sized amount (I assume on the order of 10^-9 m^3) weighs only 0.5 mg? Or does this refer to a different delivery mechanism than injection or inhalation? "Ricin is 6 billion times more toxic than cyanide and 12 billion times more poisonous than rattlesnake venom by weight." This seems very unlikely.