Table Of Content
- Why Huntington’s disease may take so long to develop
- O.J. Simpson’s death certificate confirms his cause of death, lawyer says
- The 15 most famous tunes in classical music
- Rain Bosworth studies how deaf children experience the world
- Separating science fact from fiction in Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’
- Beethoven’s Cause of Death Revealed from Locks of Hair
Using genetics to prove what killed Ludwig van Beethoven may not have allowed a team of researchers from across multiple institutions to come to a revolutionary new conclusion, but it did help them find some interesting connections. Beethoven’s marks for musicality generated an “unremarkable polygenic score for general musicality compared to population samples” that were taken from Sweden and Vanderbilt University. Of course, the team points out that the genetic indicator for beat synchronization ability may not directly tap into Beethoven’s musical creativity that lead to his composing abilities. They also looked at three other historical locks, but weren’t able to confirm those were actually Beethoven’s. Previous tests on one of those locks suggested Beethoven had lead poisoning, but researchers concluded that sample was actually from a woman.
Why Huntington’s disease may take so long to develop
By analyzing seven samples of hair said to have come from Ludwig van Beethoven, researchers debunked myths about the revered composer while raising new questions about his life and death. After cleaning Beethoven’s hair one strand at a time, scientists dissolved the pieces into a solution and fished out chunks of DNA, said study author Tristan James Alexander Begg, a biological anthropologist at the University of Cambridge. After the complete redesign of the park in 1992, Beethoven was moved to his present cramped location. One more redesign and perhaps he would be placed in storage forever -- an irrelevant statue in a city with little interest in a past that doesn't involve celluloid.
O.J. Simpson’s death certificate confirms his cause of death, lawyer says
"We approached the Central Cemetery in Vienna, but they decided against supporting the project." It began in his mid- to late 20s and ended his performing career about two decades later. Given the culture of drinking from lead vessels and medical treatments of the time that involved the use of lead, it's hardly a surprising conclusion. When Fremming died, his daughter sent the lock of hair to Sotheby’s of London for auction.
The 15 most famous tunes in classical music
What Killed Beethoven? Scientists Analyze Composer's Hair DNA - Popular Mechanics
What Killed Beethoven? Scientists Analyze Composer's Hair DNA.
Posted: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
For Johannes Krause, however, the project is over for the time being — even though there's no shortage of alleged Beethoven hair. Since the publication of the results, Krause has already been offered three more hair samples that are supposed to be from Beethoven for research purposes. One of the findings concluded that Beethoven had the liver disease hepatitis B. Other articles noted that Beethoven might not be genetically a Beethoven at all.
Rain Bosworth studies how deaf children experience the world
Beethoven is widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, in no small part because of his ability—unlike any before him—to translate feeling into music. His most famous compositions included Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (1808), Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92 (1813), and Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 (1824). Beethoven’s wild hair is an iconic part of his appearance so it’s little wonder it sparked wide interest and garnered so high a sum yesterday at Sotheby’s.
SJSU Researchers Study Beethoven's Hair, Unlock New Secrets About His Life, Death - NBC Bay Area
SJSU Researchers Study Beethoven's Hair, Unlock New Secrets About His Life, Death.
Posted: Wed, 22 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
This initial dataset of five hair samples, spanning the last seven years of the musician's life, in the future, would allow several future lines of scientific inquiry, e.g., infections he acquired during the course of his life. The genetic research didn’t offer any definitive explanations for the deafness or gastrointestinal problems, but it did highlight significant genetic risk factors for liver disease. The team also found evidence of a Hepatitis B infection present in the body in the months before the composer’s death. The genetic research didn't offer any definitive explanations for the deafness or gastrointestinal problems, but it did highlight significant genetic risk factors for liver disease. The team also found evidence of a Hepatitis B infection present in the body in the months before the composer's death.
The Moscheles lock (seen here) was taken from Beethoven around the time he died in 1827. Medicals historians have speculated that otosclerosis—a condition in which a tiny ear bone called the stapes fuses with other parts of the ear—might have been responsible for Beethoven’s hearing loss. The genetic causes of otosclerosis are yet to be identified, so this remains possible, but the theory cannot be confirmed by this study. Begg says that if genetic links are identified in the future, the team could recheck Beethoven’s genome. DNA extracted from hair cut from the composer’s head after his death also contained fragments of the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver damage.
Beethoven’s Cause of Death Revealed from Locks of Hair
When a plaster cast of the statue was shown to the city park board, Beethoven's baggy pants caused consternation among some of the commissioners and one Ms. Adele Lewis of Riverside Drive, who wrote the board the following letter. The DNA extracted showed that Beethoven had two copies of a particular variant of the gene PNPLA3 that has been linked to liver cirrhosis. He also had single copies of two variants of the HFE gene that cause hereditary haemochromatosis, a condition that damages the liver. “Those are really significant,” says Begg, given that historical reports suggest Beethoven was a heavy drinker, especially in the year before his death, which would have further increased his risk of liver damage. By 1787 he had made such progress that Maximilian Francis, archbishop-elector since 1784, was persuaded to send him to Vienna to study with Mozart.
More Stories from Science News on Genetics
To date, population genetics has seldom taken its analyses down to the level of a single individual. The surprise was that Ludwig van Beethoven’s locks had a different Y chromosome. Having considered other explanations, we inferred that at some point in the seven generations between Aert and Ludwig, someone’s father for social and legal purposes was not their biological father. As part of our work, we sought to link Beethoven’s genome with those of living members of the Beethoven lineage. To do this we focused on the Y chromosome, which is inherited in the male line only (following a similar pattern to surnames in most European traditions). We already knew through documentation that Beethoven had attacks of jaundice.
“We don’t know when he got it or how he got it,” says Begg, who suspects that Beethoven had a chronic, dormant infection that was reactivated in the months before he died. Widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven dominates a period of musical history as no one else before or since. His personal life was marked by a heroic struggle against encroaching deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last 10 years of his life when he was quite unable to hear. In an age that saw the decline of court and church patronage, he not only maintained himself from the sale and publication of his works but also was the first musician to receive a salary with no duties other than to compose how and when he felt inclined. Although his deafness did not become total until 1819, the first symptoms of the impairment manifested before 1800. Later he disclosed “that from a distance I do not hear the high notes of the instruments and the singers’ voices.” Beethoven’s hearing loss didn’t stop him from composing music, though.
Whether Beethoven ultimately died from his hepatitis, however, cannot be proven. It is not possible to say with absolute certainty that the hair used to sequence the DNA is authentic, Siegert says. After all, she says, there was a buoyant trade after Beethoven's death, including in alleged Beethoven hair.
The source of the lead that poisoned Beethoven is something historians will probably have a field day fighting about; lead was smelted in Europe in large quantities in the 19th century. Ludwig van Beethoven was known for being both a brilliant composer and a difficult human being. For most of the almost two centuries since his death, his tendency toward irritability and depression has been put down to the fact he was a genius, since there’s a common perception that genius and eccentricities go hand in hand.
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