Ricin's Deadly Action Revealed By Glowing Probes
Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 22:28
in Health & Medicine
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. Chemists at UC San Diego developed the probe, which glows when bound to a ricin-damaged part of the body's protein-making machinery. 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.