Botulinum Fast facts: – The most toxic substance known – Produced by anaerobic bacteria – A form of food poisoning – Causes nerves to fail and paralysis – The botulinum toxin is abbreviated to Botox (yes, the one used in clinical treatment for wrinkles) – Used by Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo Clostridium botulinum is…
Articles by ajblythe
A to Z Challenge: A (poisons & stories of their use)
Arsenic Fast facts: – Naturally occurring heavy metal – ‘As’ on the periodic table (atomic no.33) – Tasteless and odourless – Untraceable in human body – Once the method of choice by poisoners – Marsh Test for detecting arsenic published in 1836 – Famous victims include Napoleon Bonaparte, George III of England and Simon Bolivar…
Poisons: an A to Z introduction
According to Merriam-Webster, a poison is a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism. As Paracelsus, a German-Swiss physician and alchemist who established the role chemistry plays in medicine, is supposed to have said 500 years ago, “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison: the dose alone…
Flood and Mice
In September 2019 Australia started to burn. Nearly 5 months later the fires were down to a smoulder and covid reared its head. A year to the day that Australia went into covid lockdown, we’re flooding. To top it off, much of the farming community are experiencing a mouse plague. It’s been 18 months of…