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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Lifestyle
Asharq Al-Awsat

What Made Beethoven Sick? DNA from His Hair Offers Clues

This undated image released by the Beethoven Studies, San Jose State University, shows the Moscheles Lock of German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, authenticated by the study, with inscription by former owner Ignaz Moscheles. (AFP / Center for Beethoven Studies, San Jose State University)

Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him.

They weren't able to crack the case of the German composer's deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they did find a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver-damaging hepatitis B infection in the last months of his life.

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