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Ricin's deadly action revealed by glowing probes
A new chemical probe can rapidly detect ricin, a deadly poison with no known antidote that is feared to be a potential weapon for terrorists and cannot quickly be identified with currently available tests.
The probe, developed by chemists at UC San Diego, glows when bound to a ricin-damaged part of the body's protein-making machinery, they report in the international edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie. Because the test pinpoints the specific injury underlying the poison's toxicity, it could also help to develop drugs to counteract the effect of ricin.
Ricin toxin is among the most deadly. Just 400 micrograms, about the size of a grain of salt, is enough to kill an adult, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. Several other toxins including saporin and sarcin all cause harm in similar ways.
These poisons nick a crucial loop of RNA that is part of the cellular structure that synthesizes proteins called the ribosome. That small alteration, the loss of a single piece at the apex the loop, is enough to shut down the manufacture of proteins. Damage of this type is unusual in the absence of these specific toxins.
"We found a chemical reporter that detects a relatively rare event, one that is related to the action of the toxin," said Yitzhak Tor, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD. A new chemical probe can rapidly detect ricin, a deadly poison with no known antidote that is feared to be a potential weapon for terr... more -
The FBI has arrested a man sickened by biological toxin
"A man at the center of a mysterious case of exposure to the deadly biological agent ricin has been arrested, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Wednesday.
Ricin was found in a room in this Las Vegas extended-stay hotel in February, police say.
Roger Bergendorff was taken into custody Wednesday morning in Las Vegas, Kolko said.
Bergendorff, 57, was hospitalized with what was later diagnosed as exposed to ricin after the agent was discovered in his hotel room off the Las Vegas Strip." "A man at the center of a mysterious case of exposure to the deadly biological agent ricin has been arrested, FBI spokesman Richa... more -
Deadly toxin at Las Vegas hotel
No link to terrorism is suspected by the FBI which is helping to investigate the case in which a man brought a bag with a small container to the manager's office. The man said he found it while retrieving items from a hotel room. Officials say the substance is 100% pure ricin, and that they're unclear who it belongs to or how it got to the room. The Extended Stay America where the toxin was found has been decontaminated, and the man who found it, 3 hotel workers and the 3 police who were in contact with the chemical are under observation in the hospital - the man who found the substance is in critical condition.
Ricin is extremely toxic. An amount the size of the head of a pin can kill an adult but only if they are injected with it. Tons of it would be needed to use as a mass terrorism tool. No link to terrorism is suspected by the FBI which is helping to investigate the case in which a man brought a bag with a small contai... more
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