World: Poison-laced Letter for Barack Obama Intercepted

I am not sure whether the attempt(s) to assassinate the highest leader in the country has become a custom in the United State of America. I hope this will never happen in Malaysia.

The Great Abraham Lincoln who was the 16th President, assassinated. The other three were James A. Garfiled, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. All for of them was shot.

And this time the current US President Barack Obama becomes a target - not by being shot, but by the use of poison-laced letter. The letters were mailed to a few including Barack Obama and it was intercepted before it reaches the US President. The FBI affirmed the letters contained the poison called "ricin".

Castro Bean: Where ricin is naturally found.

What ricin is

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury.  Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.

It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.

It is a stable substance under normal conditions, but can be inactivated by heat above 80 degrees centigrade (176 degrees Fahrenheit).

How ricin works

Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person’s body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.

Effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was inhaled, ingested, or injected.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The man from New Boston, Texas is now being questioned and investigated for those letters after his wife called the police to report the suspicious activities.