DNA from Beethoven's Hair Hints at what Killed the Composer
DNA from Beethoven's hair has been tested and they are helping to uncover his exact cause of death. Beethoven had health issues most of his life. He died on March 28, 1827, and historians suspect it was because of liver failure. The analysis of his hair has shown that he carried several genetic risk factors for liver disease. Since he had this elevated risk, paired with his bad habit of drinking and potential liver infection, he brought about his own premature death. His skin apparently turned yellow in the summer of 1821 and it's thought to be that his faulty liver is the reason why.
This article caught my eye because I knew Beethoven lived so long ago so I was wondering why there was an article on this now. It is fascinating to see that even 2 centuries later technology can be used to identify some hair off of such an important person. I was wondering how this worked but in the article, it said they used hairs that were preserved very well and still intact. They also said from the strands they were given they separated some as they did not belong to Beethoven. This is so interesting because it has been saved and passed along all this time and way for it to not even belong to Beethoven. It is truly impressive what today's technology can accomplish.
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I found it very interesting that Beethoven was predisposed to liver disease through his genetics. This gives a lot of insight on modern technology and just how far we have come. From mummies to even Beethoven, a lot can be said about a person by a single strand of their hair. It is also interesting to know that if this modern technology had existed in the past then maybe Beethoven would've have been informed of his chances of having liver disease and he would've changed his lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteHey April, it's very interesting to see that someone who died almost 200 years ago can have a hair follicle tested to see how they died. This just goes to show how far genetics has come. If modern technology would have been around, then I believe many people would have had a greater chance at living and more lives would've been saved.
ReplyDeleteI found this article and post to be very interesting. The technologies for DNA sequencing are so interesting and we even learned about something similar in class. The mtDNA that is present in shed hairs can be used for FBI research. It's so interesting to see someone who died so long agos DNA can still be sequenced and salvaged.
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