ricin
pronunciation
How to pronounce ricin in British English:
UK [ˈraɪsɪn]
How to pronounce ricin in American English:
US [ˈraɪsɪn, ˈrɪsɪn]
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- Noun:
- a toxic protein extracted from castor beans; used as a chemical reagent; can be used as a bioweapon
Word Origin
- ricin (n.)
- poison obtained from the castor-oil bean, 1888, from ricinus, genus name of the castor-oil plant (1694), from Latin ricinus (Pliny), of uncertain origin, perhaps the same word as ricinus "tick" (in sheep, dogs, etc.).
Example
- 1. It 's usually produced by the castor oil plant , ricinuscommunis , but is better known as ricin .
- 2. Illnesses caused by the deliberate release of dangerous bacteria , viruses or fungi , or biological toxins ( e.g. ricin , a natural toxin occurring in plants ) .
- 3. The poison is ricin , which is so toxic that workers who collect the seeds have strict safety guidelines to prevent accidental death .
- 4. Comparison of two purification methods of ricin .
- 5. There was nothing to stop us from trying to put the gene for one of nature 's most potent toxins into bacteria to see if we could make them produce unlimited copies clone the ricin gene in other words .