14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers working with the California Department of Public Health have announced the discovery of a new super toxin which they say is the deadliest substance to have thus far been documented by science.
The compound in question belongs to the family of botulinum, and it was found in the feces of a child who showed typical symptoms associated with botulism.
By the looks of it, injecting a grown person with just 2 billionths of a gram of this compound is more than enough to kill them. Inhaling 13 billionths of a gram has the same effect, New Scientist tells us.
According to the same source, the chemical kills by paralysis. More precisely, it keeps the body from producing a compound without which nerves cannot work.
For the time being, scientists have not managed to develop an antidote for this compound. Hence the fact that they have decided to keep its DNA sequence a secret.
The toxin's gene sequence will be made public once an effective treatment against its effects becomes available.