SCIENTISTS have revealed their secret weapon in the battle against biological terrorism - a nice cuppa.
As well as being the nation’s favourite drink, research by the University of Greenwich has shown that a morning brew has the ability to kill micro-organisms and inactivate toxins.
Senior lecturer in biopharmaceutical sciences Dr Simon Richardson part of a research team who have discovered that a principal component of black tea can neutralise ricin, a highly toxic substance which has been at the centre of a number of attempted terrorist attacks.
Dr Richardson said: "One cup of char won’t cure you if you have been poisoned, but compounds extracted from tea could, with further research, provide an antidote to poisoning following a terrorist attack.
"I’ve been working on neutralising ricin poisoning for about six years as a by-product of my work in drug delivery."
Ricin was the poison used to kill the Bulgarian dissident Georgie Markov on Westminster bridge in 1978 after a small pellet containing the poison was fired out of what was thought to be a modified umbrella.
For more information, visit gre.ac.uk
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