The KGB designed a pen-sized assassination weapon to deliver ricin pellets, one of a family of poison assassination pens that delivered gas or liquid poisons.Posted on 10/10/2001 7:29:42 PM PDT by oioiman
Ricin is a protein produced by the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis, which is highly toxic (the minimal lethal dose is around 1 µg / kg body weight, that means 1/15th of a milligram could kill a 150 lb. person). Ricin can be a dangerous contaminant, making the production of castor oil a precisely controled process.
Ricin is a type II RIP (ribosome inactivating protein) which consists of two smaller proteins held together covalently by a disulfide bridge. These two proteins are the A chain (RTA) and the B chain (RTB). To understand the toxicity of ricin, we need to look at the activities of these two subunits.
RTA is an N-glycosidase, which removes the bases from nucleic acids like DNA or RNA. RTA specifically targets a sequence in ribosomal RNA (the GAGA tetraloop of 18S rRNA) which completely inactivates the ribosomes, which are the machinery for producing proteins in the cell. Without functional ribosomes, the cell cannot produce the enzymes it needs to operate and dies. On its own, RTA cannot enter the cell to get access to the ribosomes, so it only inactivates ribosomes in the laboratory, which has classified it a type I RIP (which is non-toxic).
RTB is a lectin (a protein which binds to sugar) which is specific for sugars containing galactose (which is a component of lactose - the sugar in milk). Since most proteins on the outsides of cells are decorated by complex sugar chains, several of which contain galactose, there are lots of places for RTB to stick to the outsides of cells. Beside sticking to the outside, RTB can piggyback on these proteins as they are internalized into the cell (via the TGN), being carried into the cell itself.
So by attaching RTA to RTB, castor oil plants have created a ribosome inactivator that can be carried into the cell where it is toxic. This is the same strategy used by several other toxins: like Choleratoxin (which causes Cholera), Pertussistoxin (which causes Whopping Cough), Diptheriatoxin (which causes Diptheria), and others. In each case, a normally benign toxin is linked to a protein which gives it a way into the cell, where it is deadly.
The KGB designed a pen-sized assassination weapon to deliver ricin pellets, one of a family of poison assassination pens that delivered gas or liquid poisons.
A new rapid test (similar to an over-the-counter pregnancy test) developed by the Osborn Scientific Group (OSG) in Lakeside will enable first response units -- including fire departments, police departments, haz mat teams, emergency room, and EMT personnel -- to readily detect the presence of Ricin, a very deadly toxin known to be produced and purified from castor beans by certain Middle Eastern countries sponsoring terrorist activities.
The new test, appropriately named the BIO-911(TM) One-Step Ricin Test Strip, allows first response units to detect the presence of minute quantities of the toxin (less than 50 nanograms) within minutes, thereby alerting first response units to the potential danger, which could save lives.
Due to recent terrorist attacks on the United States, OSG has decided to ramp up production of these tests from its FDA registered facility, which should become widely available within the next few weeks. Additional tests for anthrax, botulism toxin, black plague, and smallpox are under development.
The Osborn Scientific Group is developing other rapid bio-terrorism detection tests as a part of its B.A.A.D. (Biologic Agent Detection Devices) Box, a complete bio-terrorism kit being developed for first response units worldwide. While OSG will not release the contents of the B.A.A.D. Box, however, it is sure to include tests for anthrax and botulism toxin.
Dr. Bohannon, OSG's chief scientific officer, was a project officer for the U.S. Army's development of ultra-sensitive methods to quickly detect BW agents and was recently awarded a U.S. patent for his work in the field.
OSG, a privately held company, is a manufacturer of rapid diagnostic tests that detect antibodies to HIV, HCV, H. pylori, syphilis and tuberculosis.
If anyone ever tried to grow castor beans in cattle country, they'd get lynched. The ricin in the plant is so toxic, you could kill whole herds if it grew uncontrolled.
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KILLING IN THE RAIN
Apartheid South Africa's "toy" makers could hardly be given credit for their ingenuity in designing a range of unconventional murder weapons.
Former death squad operative Trevor Floyd told the Pretoria High Court he had read about a deadly KGB manufactured umbrella used in the the murder of Bulgarian dissident and radio broadcaster Georgi Markov in London in 1978.
South African operatives thought the device was an excellent idea, going so far as to purchase an umbrella in Europe for the task of murdering ANC officials Pallo Jordan and Ronnie Kasrils, now Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. At the time both men were living in exile in the United Kingdom.
After it had been modified, an agent gave it to Floyd during a clandestine meeting on a London train.
Floyd never got to use it and dumped it into the River Thames.
It's a bit hard to manage. How does one prepare or carry it? Just carrying the stuff puts the courier at more risk than the intended victim (barring the use of umbrellas.)
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