Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
It is known as SRL precisely because it is the target of both α-sarcin and ricin. Ricin is the best known representative of the ribosomal inactivating protein (RIP) family. [22] RIPs are also highly specialized toxic proteins produced by plants and fungi that inactivate ribosomes acting as N-glycosidases.
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]
Ricin has been used in several plots to poison political opponents over the last few decades. Vane had previously been kicked out of the Virginia Kekoas, a self-described “prepper militia.”
According to the Guinness World Records, this is the world's most poisonous common plant. [22] If ricin is ingested, symptoms commonly begin within two to four hours, but may be delayed by up to 36 hours. These include a burning sensation in mouth and throat, abdominal pain, purging and bloody diarrhea.
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.
On April 17, 2013, FBI agents detained a Corinth, Mississippi, man on suspicion of mailing the ricin-laced letters. [4] [5] [10] All charges were dropped however, and he was released on April 23, 2013. Federal investigators reported that they could find no evidence linking him to the letters. [11]
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.