How the Nazis invented nerve agents like sarin (video)

(American Chemical Society) Nerve agents are arguably the most brutal chemical weapons. These infamous compounds, which include sarin gas and VX, originated in Nazi Germany when a chemist was trying to develop a more effective insecticide. Marrying the element phosphorus with cyanide derivatives resulted in a poison so deadly it was named 'Tabun,' derived from the German word for 'taboo.' Learn more about the history of nerve agents in the latest Speaking of Chemistry.