Beethoven's Drunk Symphony: Composer's DNA reveals actual cause of death and family secrets
Scientists have analyzed five locks of what is believed to be Ludwig van Beethoven's hair to sequence the eminent composer's genome. He was a troubled genius, fighting deafness while trying to write symphonies he could not even fully hear.
The German composer, who died in 1827 at the age of 57, had a hereditary predisposition to liver disease and apparent hepatitis B infection, which suggests that his love of wine may not have been the only factor in his demise. The composer was reportedly so fond of alcohol that, upon receiving a gift of Rhineland wine on his deathbed, his last words were, "Too bad! Too late!"
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Researchers believed that Beethoven's hearing loss was due to Lead
Nevertheless, recent discoveries that he had hepatitis B infection and a familial predisposition to liver issues raise questions about whether alcoholism alone was to blame for his death from likely cirrhosis of the liver. The new research may refute the widely held belief that lead, which was used to sweeten wine in the 19th century, caused Beethoven to lose his hearing, as per Daily Mail.
The genetic study also revealed an illegitimate child within the composer's family tree, leading to a brand-new and intriguing notion about him. This conclusion is tentative and could have occurred up to seven generations after Beethoven. But although much more study would be required to establish this, it is thrillingly feasible that the composer himself was the result of an illicit relationship and was merely half-brother to his sibling Kaspar.
'From disease risk to the family tree'
Tristan Begg, the lead author of the study from the University of Cambridge, said, "Most people who do genetic testing for fun, including myself, will find that there is nothing wrong with them, they are related to everyone they thought they were, and the results are not surprising. But in this study we had fascinating results in every branch we looked at, from disease risk to the family tree. After eight years, that was very exciting."
Beethoven's deafness, which started with tinnitus and a loss of high frequencies in his twenties and progressed to a significant degree of deafness by 1818, was not genetically caused, according to researchers who looked at a total of 18 feet (555cm) of his hair. While celiac disease and lactose intolerance may be ruled out and the composer had some genetic protection against IBS, there was no apparent hereditary basis for the "wretched" gastrointestinal pains and episodes of diarrhea that tormented the prodigy from his early twenties. Beethoven experienced the first of at least two episodes of jaundice, a sign of liver disease, in the summer of 1821. It has long been assumed that his death at 57 years was most likely caused by cirrhosis.