GENIUS GENOME

Scientists Crack Beethoven’s Genetic Code Using a Lock of His Hair

Beethoven’s genes partially explain the disease that contributed to his death.

A group of scientists have cracked the genetic code of one of the most famous composers to ever live, and it all started with his hair. Using locks kept as keepsakes by friends and family, researchers have sequenced Ludwig van Beethoven’s DNA and, in the process, discovered explanations for a number of maladies he may have suffered during his life. According to the study, published in the journal Current Biology, Beethoven’s DNA showed genetic risk factors for liver disease, indicated that he may have been infected with hepatitis B, and showed that a recent ancestor had a child out of wedlock. One thing the researchers couldn’t solve: the cause of Beethoven’s deafness, which led him to pen a letter to his brothers calling on them to study his hearing loss, ​​so that “so far as possible, the world may be reconciled to me after my death.” Scientists determined that his genetic risk of liver disease, combined with his hepatitis B and alcohol consumption, most likely caused the liver disease that contributed to his death.