DNA from Beethoven Provides Details about His Health

2023-03-25

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • Researchers who examined DNA from famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven have learned new details about his health.
  • 2
  • The DNA - which came from Beethoven's hair - did not provide a cause for his deafness.
  • 3
  • But the samples did find that he had a genetic risk for liver disease.
  • 4
  • The DNA also showed evidence that Beethoven was infected with the virus hepatitis B in the last months of his life.
  • 5
  • The virus damages the liver.
  • 6
  • The findings recently appeared in a study in the publication Current Biology.
  • 7
  • The findings suggest Beethoven's liver issues were enough to cause the liver failure widely believed to have killed him.
  • 8
  • The composer was also believed to have been a heavy drinker of alcohol, which can affect the liver.
  • 9
  • March 26 is the 196th anniversary of Beethoven's death in Vienna, Austria.
  • 10
  • The composer himself wrote that he wanted doctors to study his health problems after he died.
  • 11
  • Axel Schmidt is a geneticist at Germany's University Hospital Bonn who helped lead the research.
  • 12
  • He told The Associated Press it is established that Beethoven's sicknesses had "sometimes very much limited his creative work."
  • 13
  • Schmidt added that for many doctors, "it has always been a mystery" what exactly killed him.
  • 14
  • Since his death, scientists have long tried to piece together Beethoven's medical history.
  • 15
  • And they have offered a series of possible explanations for his many health conditions.
  • 16
  • But new examination technology and methods now make it possible to revisit health and death information by studying ancient DNA.
  • 17
  • The DNA samples were collected from locks of hair that had been cut from Beethoven's head.
  • 18
  • After cleaning Beethoven's hair one piece at a time, scientists put the pieces into a substance and collected small amounts of DNA, said study author Tristan James Alexander Begg.
  • 19
  • He was a writer of the study and is a biology professor at the University of Cambridge.
  • 20
  • Getting enough genetic material was difficult, said another writer of the study, Johannes Krause.
  • 21
  • He is a paleogeneticist at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  • 22
  • Krause said the process was difficult because DNA in hair gets cut up into very small pieces.
  • 23
  • But finally, after using up almost 3 meters of Beethoven's hair, the team was able to piece together a genome that they could test for signs of genetic disease, Krause said.
  • 24
  • The question of what caused Beethoven's hearing loss remains unanswered, said Ohio State University's Dr. Avraham Z. Cooper.
  • 25
  • He was not involved in the study.
  • 26
  • Cooper said that mystery might continue forever because genetics can only show us half of the "nature and nurture" elements that make up our health.
  • 27
  • However, Cooper added that the mystery is part of what makes Beethoven so interesting and popular: "I think the fact that we can't know is OK," he said.
  • 28
  • I'm Bryan Lynn.
  • 1
  • Researchers who examined DNA from famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven have learned new details about his health.
  • 2
  • The DNA - which came from Beethoven's hair - did not provide a cause for his deafness. But the samples did find that he had a genetic risk for liver disease. The DNA also showed evidence that Beethoven was infected with the virus hepatitis B in the last months of his life. The virus damages the liver.
  • 3
  • The findings recently appeared in a study in the publication Current Biology.
  • 4
  • The findings suggest Beethoven's liver issues were enough to cause the liver failure widely believed to have killed him. The composer was also believed to have been a heavy drinker of alcohol, which can affect the liver.
  • 5
  • March 26 is the 196th anniversary of Beethoven's death in Vienna, Austria. The composer himself wrote that he wanted doctors to study his health problems after he died.
  • 6
  • Axel Schmidt is a geneticist at Germany's University Hospital Bonn who helped lead the research. He told The Associated Press it is established that Beethoven's sicknesses had "sometimes very much limited his creative work." Schmidt added that for many doctors, "it has always been a mystery" what exactly killed him.
  • 7
  • Since his death, scientists have long tried to piece together Beethoven's medical history. And they have offered a series of possible explanations for his many health conditions.
  • 8
  • But new examination technology and methods now make it possible to revisit health and death information by studying ancient DNA. The DNA samples were collected from locks of hair that had been cut from Beethoven's head.
  • 9
  • After cleaning Beethoven's hair one piece at a time, scientists put the pieces into a substance and collected small amounts of DNA, said study author Tristan James Alexander Begg. He was a writer of the study and is a biology professor at the University of Cambridge.
  • 10
  • Getting enough genetic material was difficult, said another writer of the study, Johannes Krause. He is a paleogeneticist at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Krause said the process was difficult because DNA in hair gets cut up into very small pieces.
  • 11
  • But finally, after using up almost 3 meters of Beethoven's hair, the team was able to piece together a genome that they could test for signs of genetic disease, Krause said.
  • 12
  • The question of what caused Beethoven's hearing loss remains unanswered, said Ohio State University's Dr. Avraham Z. Cooper. He was not involved in the study. Cooper said that mystery might continue forever because genetics can only show us half of the "nature and nurture" elements that make up our health.
  • 13
  • However, Cooper added that the mystery is part of what makes Beethoven so interesting and popular: "I think the fact that we can't know is OK," he said.
  • 14
  • I'm Bryan Lynn.
  • 15
  • The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.
  • 16
  • ______________________________________________________________
  • 17
  • Words in This Story
  • 18
  • composer - n. someone who writes music
  • 19
  • sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from
  • 20
  • author - n. someone who writes, originates or creates something
  • 21
  • paleogeneticist - n. a geneticist whose specialty is paleogenetics
  • 22
  • genome - n. the complete set of genetic material of a human, animal, plant or other living thing
  • 23
  • nurture - v. to take care of, feed and protect someone or something, especially young children or plants
  • 24
  • __________________________________________________________________
  • 25
  • What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:
  • 26
  • Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.