Ricin and the Assassination of Georgi Markov

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dead reasons of Georgi Markov. Georgi Markov, a well known Bulgarian novelist and playwright, dissident of the communist regime in his country, escaped to England where, he dedicated himself in broadcasting from BBC World Service, the Radio Free Europe and the German Deutsche Welle against the communist party and especially against its leader Todor Zhivkov who in a party's meeting told that he wanted Markov silenced for ever. On the 7th September 1978 Markov received a deadly dose of the poison ricin by injection to his thigh by a specially modified umbrella. He died without a final diagnosis a few days later. The autopsy revealed the poisoning. The murderer, in spite of the efforts of the Police, Interpol and Diplomacy still remains unknown.

Forward and Reverse Genetics through Derivation of Haploid Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

“…Moreover, we performed a forward genetic screen for ricin toxicity, one of the most dangerous poisons also being used/investigated as a biological weapon by governments. Ricin also gained notoriety for its potential use as toxin in bioterrorism (Papaloucas et al, 2008). This screen in haploid ES cells identified the GPCR Gpr107 as an essential molecule required for ricin induced killing.…”

Prions: the danger of biochemical weapons

“…Ricin has already been used as a weapon (Augerson, 2000;National Security Notes, 2004), for example in the case that caught the full attention of international media and was described by Papaloucas et al (2008) and which was about a political dissident that was killed by a supposed KGB agent using a single ricin-tipped umbrella as a weapon. Consequently, the same mechanism can be used to deliver Prions using simple objects without giving the victim a chance to receive a vaccine, treatment, or a specific anti-serum injection.…”

“…The use of such weapons seems to have strong personal issues involved because it would be easier to kill someone simply using a gun, but with Prions, the victim agonizes for months before dying (Papaloucas et al, 2008). The most frightening possibility would be the use of Prions to get rid of enemies in large regions of ongoing conflicts or political separatist wars.…”

Conformation-Dependent High-Affinity Potent Ricin-Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies

“…Ricin is a highly potent toxin known for humans [6]. Although never laboratory confirmed, ricin was most likely the etiologic agent used in the assassination of Georgi Markov in 1978, demonstrating the extreme lethality of the toxin [7]. Due to its ease of production, worldwide availability, relative stability, and extreme lethality, ricin is listed as a Category B threat agent by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, USA).…”