The 57-year-old offered no clues about what prompted him to lace coworkers' food with toxic metals. A psychologist said he "seemed to me like a scientist who was testing substances on a guinea pig."
Physicians in Berlin say that anti-Kremlin activist Pyotr Verzilov's illness does not appear to be caused by infection or disease. But they could not confirm what he was poisoned with, or by whom.
Police in Britain say two people have been exposed to Novichok, the same nerve agent that poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.
Authorities said there is an "epidemic on the Eastern Shore" of wildlife-poisoning crimes because it's "cheaper and easier" than trapping a nuisance animals or building a fence.
Health officials asked anyone who frequented a Salisbury restaurant and pub around the time Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found poisoned to wash their clothes and possessions.
One corner of the garden of Alnwick Castle in northern England grows a hundred plants behind lock and key. Many of the toxic species there were used by medieval doctors — nasty plants adapted to heal.
The toxin comes from tiny frogs in Colombia — the ones that pack a punch on the tip of poison darts. In the past, research on toxins like this has led to some pretty amazing drug discoveries.
Citing growing evidence that no amount of lead exposure is safe for kids, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for tighter regulations on the amount of lead in house dust, water and soil.