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Letter: Bean test explained

Published 19 July 2003

From Luce Gilmore

I heard of Calabar beans during my Cambridge part 1A physiology classes (28 June, p 48). This is how they distinguished between innocent and guilty: the innocent confidently gobbled the beans down, and threw them up straight away. The guilty nibbled theirs slowly and reluctantly, giving the physostigmine time to be absorbed. Cunning, eh?

Cambridge, UK

Issue no. 2404 published 19 July 2003

Â鶹´«Ã½ issue 2404 cover

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