Poisoned on Purpose?

FlyBy's been following the poisoning incident at Harvard Medical School that we told you about yesterday morning where six researchers went to the hospital after drinking coffee contaminated with a potentially deadly agent found in many biochemical labs called sodium azide.

Well, it turns out one of the victims has come out and accused somebody, somewhere of having put the chemical in the coffee machine on purpose. Matteo Iannacone, a graduate of an Italian medical school and research associate at the HMS' Pathology Department, told the Associated Press yesterday that he doesn't believe that it was chance that his coffee contained more than just caffeine:

...

"I have no idea who might have done this thing," he said. "To me it doesn't look like a joke, obviously, because we were not far from a lethal dose."

Officials and administrators at HMS wouldn't deny the charge. HMS spokesman David J. Cameron told The Crimson two nights ago that investigators hadn't eliminated any theory as to how the sodium azide got in the coffee machine, and Mabel P. Duyao, director of research at the Pathology Department, left the door open whether the presence of the chemical was due to malice.

There's more to the story. Read about it after the jump.

The A.P. also reported that after experiencing symptoms of dizziness and increased heart rate, Iannacone was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital, but an internal HMS memo released Friday stated that all six victims were seen at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

And so, the mystery continues.

Photo courtesy of Nevit Dilmen and Wikimedia Commons.