In an apparent assassination attempt in March 2018, Sergei S…
In an apparent assassination attempt in March 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, England. On June 30, 2018, Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess fell ill in a nearby town. The cause in both cases was cetylcholinesterase poisoning by Novichok. This nerve agent, which was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970’s, permanently inactivates the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Following the initial effects of Novichok, the ligand-gated ionotropic channels become desensitized so that: