Polonium-210 is a metal found in uranium ore, which often shows up as a byproduct of nuclear reactors. It can be processed into a tasteless, odorless compound that dissolves in water, which makes it a good candidate as far as undetectable poisons go.
Most poisons can be detected in your blood or urine. Your doctor may order a toxicology screen. This checks for common drugs using a urine or saliva sample.
Strychnine: the notorious but rare poison at the heart of a modern mystery.
Blue death is extremely poisonous and can be fatal to humans.
Ricin. Ricin is a highly toxic protein that occurs naturally in the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis. Ricin is poisonous to humans if inhaled, injected or ingested, and a dose the size of a few grains of table salt can kill an adult human. Yikes!
It is called the “silent killer” because it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non- irritating. If the early signs of CO poisoning are ignored, a person may lose consciousness and be unable to escape the danger. More people die from carbon monoxide exposure than any other kind of poisoning.
The symptoms of arsenic poisoning can be acute, or severe and immediate, or chronic, where damage to health is experienced over a longer period. This will often depend on the method of exposure. A person who has swallowed arsenic may show signs and symptoms within 30 minutes.
A person can be poisoned and not show symptoms for hours, days, or months. Cases of poisoning with a prolonged onset of symptoms are particularly dangerous because there may be a dangerous delay in obtaining medical attention.
feeling and being sick. diarrhoea. stomach pain. drowsiness, dizziness or weakness.
The most reliable way to test for recent arsenic exposure is through a urine test. If you had a fish meal or ate fish supplements within a few days of having a urine test, the test may show a high level of arsenic.
You can be exposed to thallium in air, water, and food. However, the levels of thallium in air and water are very low. The greatest exposure occurs when you eat food, mostly home-grown fruits and green vegetables contaminated by thallium.
Ricin poisoning is highly unlikely. No widely available test exists to confirm that a person has ricin in their body.
1. Botulinum toxin. Scientists differ about the relative toxicities of substances, but they seem to agree that botulinum toxin, produced by anaerobic bacteria, is the most toxic substance known. Its LD50 is tiny – at most 1 nanogram per kilogram can kill a human.
Tetrodotoxin interferes with the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles by blocking sodium channels. This results in rapid weakening and paralysis of muscles, including those of the respiratory tract, which can lead to respiratory arrest and death.
Young wrote an essay highlighting the medicinal risks of drinking tea which appeared in the Boston Evening Post in October, 1773. He aimed to make the case that tea was really a slow poison.
High blood pressure is often called the "silent killer" because most people who have it don't have any symptoms. And that silence can be deadly. High blood pressure can lead to a host of serious problems, including heart attack, heart failure and stroke.
The heart-stopping mechanism of digoxin
When digoxin enters the body, it binds a transport protein called the sodium-potassium pump situated on heart cells. Binding of digoxin blocks the pump, ultimately resulting in heart muscle contraction caused by a complex chain of responses.
Pål Stenmark regards botulinum toxin – the world's most dangerous poison – as a set of building blocks he can redesign and give new functions.
The acute toxicity of arsenic has been recognized since antiquity. Known as both the “king of poisons” and the “poison of kings,” the element's infamy grew during the Middle Ages as an almost untraceable means of murder.
Ethylene glycol is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting chemical. It is poisonous if swallowed. Ethylene glycol may be swallowed accidentally, or it may be taken deliberately in a suicide attempt or as a substitute for drinking alcohol (ethanol).
The concentration of borax in many ant baits is only 5.4%, so only small amounts of the active ingredients are present. Fipronil, avermectin, and indoxacarb all have the potential to affect the nervous system in humans. Ingestion of large amounts can cause weakness, dizziness, or a comatose state.