The Compound Syria Supposedly Used as Chemical Warfare

There are a number of different gasses that have been used in chemical warfare, but the most likely culprit in the case of the recent Syrian civil war conflict is Sarin. Sarin is a potent nerve agent (a phosphorus containing molecule that inhibits nerves from communicating to organs), and is fairly easy to synthesize as it only requires two reactants, one of which is isopropyl alcohol, and the other methylphosphonyl difluoride.  These reactants are combined when the nerve gas is released since this molecule is unstable in the P-F bond. The toxicity of this compound reaches about 500 times that of cyanide. The molecule was originally synthesized in 1938 by a German company in sight to produce an insecticide, but proved to be more useful in chemical warfare after the German army began testing in 1939.

What makes the use of chemical warfare, subject to such serious allegations? They are weapons of mass destruction that are cheaper, less destructive on the environment, and selective on anyone without a gas mask. So a regime, such as the Syrian army, can use it to eliminate it's citizens, while their army wears protective gas masks. And, as a nuclear blast would demolish a city, a chemical bomb leaves the buildings intact, but with a high death toll. These weapons aren't used to fight a war, but to exterminate an entire population within the desired vicinity. This is why chemical warfare has been banned.

4-Methylimidizole, a Pepsi Additive

Recently the news has been discussing Pepsi's additive 4-methylimidizole in the caramel colouring of their popular drinks, with the fact that the Centre for Environmental Health has deemed it unsafe. Now should you go into your fridge right now and toss all of your Pepsi into the garbage? No. Although a study that was performed in 2007 gave results showing that 4-methylimidizole has carcinogenic properties in mice and rats, keep in mind that this is at an extremely high dose (115mg/kg of body weight) and the dosage that a normal consumer will receive showed no effects.

So why is this molecule in Pepsi in the first place? It comes with the additive caramel colour, which is produced by a separate manufacturer and is listed as Caramel Colour on the ingredients list.  This molecule is made as a product of the Maillard Reaction, the browning of food, and in this case being the reaction to produce the caramel colour. But the problem with their method in producing the caramel colour is that they use a method with a higher concentration of ammonia, which incidentally ends up producing more 4-methylimidizole than other methods. Since this has come out, the US caramel colour manufacturers have changed their recipe to adhere to the people's reaction, lowering the overall concentration of 4-methylimidizole.  This has yet to change the formulation in other parts of the world though.

Ricin: A Potent Poison

Now I don't really talk about anything on this site that deals with anything biochemistry related, but I will make this an exception due to the state of current events. Ricin might be a word that you have heard recently in the new, about the poising attempt on President Obama by an Elvis impersonator.  For those who don't know what Ricin is, it is a protein originating from the same plant that gives you castor oil. It's job in the body is a nasty one, as it inhibits protein synthesis (which is pretty much everything important in a cell), more specifically it acts upon the ribosome (a small organelle which synthesizes proteins). It's categorization of inhibitor is a Ribosome Inactivating Protein, which cynically has the acronym RIP.  Although this is a very deadly poison (a gram worth to kill), there does exist an antidote, but the survivors will have major organ damage and will have a shortened life expectancy.

Source:
Wikipedia