From 1952-1953, Sydney detectives investigated a staggering number of murder and attempted murder cases that were unrelated yet shared a common element: thallium poisoning.
The secret to thallium toxicity lies in its structural similarity to potassium — an element that helps regulate the body's fluids, initiate muscle contraction and transmit nerve signals.
If even a small amount of thallium sneaks its way into the body — for example, through a tainted tea or a slice of cake — it easily supplants potassium, causing the body to slowly and painfully shut down.
At the time, thallium's risks were well known, so how were the perpetrators able to get their hands on such a lethal element?
And thallium isn't the only dangerous element on the periodic table.
Within this tabular array loom several potential threats, each with their own unique method of imposing destruction.
Some elements, like thallium, are dangerous due to their toxicity.
Once they enter the body, they wreak havoc on the biological systems that keep us alive.
Lead, for example, switches places with the body's essential metals like calcium, in turn disrupting neuronal communication in the brain.
Traveling through the bloodstream, it also generates toxic levels of molecules known as reactive oxygen species, which over time can stress and kill cells.
