Explaining the Bio-toxin Ricin

Ricin is a poison that comes from the seeds of the castor plant. In the past, malicious groups have sent envelopes of this toxin along with letters to attack their targets. Recently, the United States Postal Service has intercepted 2 letters laced with ricin addressed to Senator Roger Wicker  and President Barack Obama. Also in 2011, four Americans were arrested on accounts that they were planning to poison many with ricin and destroy key government buildings. It is know that ricin is deadly, but how does it work?

Proteins are the building blocks of the human body; coded for by our RNA and created by the ribosomes, these key elements  help to transport many important nutrients, regulate systems, as well as create blood. Ricin interrupts the synthesis of proteins

 by binding to the ribosomes and breaking them open. This results in adverse effects such as organ failure. Even though risin can severely damage the body, it needs to be ingested or injected to cause immediate and dangerous symptoms. Thankfully, the risin sent by letter probably would not have accomplished the sender's goals even if it had reached the oval office. Dan Brown, a nutritional toxicologist at Cornell University says that, "the letter openers would have had to place their faces almost directly into the envelopes while opening them to experience negative effects." This is because the chemical needs to enter the bloodstream in order interrupt ribosome function. 

This article demonstrates themes of science because:
 ~Science is collaborative. Brown worked with many other scientists to understand risin.
~Science is based on evidence. Researchers studied those exposed to risin as well as performing experiments on mice to determine the molecular effects of the poison.  

Article link: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=murderous-mail-how-dangerous-ricin-attacks