from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy have extracted and analysed DNA which was extracted from Otzi's pelvis to help figure out more about his life. The findings concluded that his descendants live on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, that he had brown eyes and hair, and was lactose intolerant. The way that they were able to tell that he was lactose intolerant was because of the fact that he had a mutation to his MCM6 gene which indicates he could not digest the lactose sugar in milk. Another finding was that he would have probably developed heart disease because of a genetic mutation that he carried increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 40 percent in modern humans and two other mutations that made him prone to a build up of fat in the linings of his arteries. To support this, earlier investigations showed that his major arteries and aorta were calcified. To establish his closest living kin by comparing to DNA of 1300 Europeans, 125 North Africans, and 20 people from the Arab peninsula and determined his kin was found on Sardinia and Corsica.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Otzi the ice mummy's secrets found in DNA
Otzi is a mummy which was found in 1991 on an Alpine glacier between Austria and Italy and dates back 5300 years ago. Albert Zink
from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy have extracted and analysed DNA which was extracted from Otzi's pelvis to help figure out more about his life. The findings concluded that his descendants live on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, that he had brown eyes and hair, and was lactose intolerant. The way that they were able to tell that he was lactose intolerant was because of the fact that he had a mutation to his MCM6 gene which indicates he could not digest the lactose sugar in milk. Another finding was that he would have probably developed heart disease because of a genetic mutation that he carried increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 40 percent in modern humans and two other mutations that made him prone to a build up of fat in the linings of his arteries. To support this, earlier investigations showed that his major arteries and aorta were calcified. To establish his closest living kin by comparing to DNA of 1300 Europeans, 125 North Africans, and 20 people from the Arab peninsula and determined his kin was found on Sardinia and Corsica.
from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy have extracted and analysed DNA which was extracted from Otzi's pelvis to help figure out more about his life. The findings concluded that his descendants live on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, that he had brown eyes and hair, and was lactose intolerant. The way that they were able to tell that he was lactose intolerant was because of the fact that he had a mutation to his MCM6 gene which indicates he could not digest the lactose sugar in milk. Another finding was that he would have probably developed heart disease because of a genetic mutation that he carried increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 40 percent in modern humans and two other mutations that made him prone to a build up of fat in the linings of his arteries. To support this, earlier investigations showed that his major arteries and aorta were calcified. To establish his closest living kin by comparing to DNA of 1300 Europeans, 125 North Africans, and 20 people from the Arab peninsula and determined his kin was found on Sardinia and Corsica.
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it honestly is incredible that DNA can tell you so much about a person; a person that is dead.....i am amazed how technology and the knowledge about DNA can be accurate and helpful...however i do feel bad for this person since he would have coronary heart disease
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