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Researchers who examined DNA from famous German musician Ludwig van Beethoven have found something new about his health.
They found that he had a risk for liver(肝脏) disease. The DNA also showed that Beethoven caught the virus hepatitis B(乙肝病毒)in the last months of his life. The virus hurts the liver.The findings suggest Beethoven's liver problems were enough to cause the liver failure widely believed to have killed him. The musician was also believed to have been a heavy drinker, which can influence the liver.
The musician himself wrote that he wanted doctors to study his health problems after he died. Axel Schmidt is a researcher who helped lead the research. He said that Beethoven's sicknesses had“sometimes prevented his creative work".Schmidt added that for many doctors,"it has always been a mystery"what exactly killed him.
Since his death, scientists have long tried to piece together Beethoven's medical history. And they have offered many explanations for his many health conditions. But new examination technology and methods now make it possible to revisit(再次讨论)health and death information by studying ancient DNA. The DNA were collected from hair cut from Beethoven's head.
Getting enough genetic(遗传的)material was difficult because DNA in hair gets cut up into very small pieces. But finally, after using up almost 3meters of Beethoven's hair, the team finished it.
The question of what caused Beethoven's hearing loss remains unanswered.said Ohio State University's Dr Cooper. He said that the mystery might continue forever because DNA can not show us everything about our health. However. Cooper added that the mystery is part of what makes Beethoven so interesting and popular.“The fact that we can't know is OK,"he said.
研究人员从德国著名音乐家路德维希·凡•贝多芬留下的头发中提取出 DNA进行测试，发现了新的有关他健康的情况。
他们发现他有患有肝病的风险。DNA还显示，贝多芬在他生命的最后几个月里感染了乙肝病毒，这种病毒会伤害肝脏。研究结果表明，贝多芬的肝脏问题足以导致肝功能衰竭，人们普遍认为这导致了他的死亡。这位音乐家也被认为是一个酗酒者，这会损伤肝脏。
贝多芬本人写道，他希望医生在他去世后研究他的健康状况。Axel Schmidt是这一项研究的带领者。他说，贝多芬的疾病有时会阻碍他的创作。Schmidt 又表示，对许多医生来说，究竟是什么杀死了他，这一直是一个谜。
自他去世后，科学家们长期以来一直试图完善贝多芬的病史，而且他们为他的健康状况提供了许多解释。但是现在新的检查技术及方法使我们有可能通过研究过去的DNA来重新检索他的健康和死亡信息。这些DNA是从贝多芬头上剪下的头发上提取的。
获得足够的遗传物质很困难，因为头发中的DNA会被切割成非常小的碎片。但最后，在用尽了贝多芬近3米的头发后，研究小组完成了这项工作。。
俄亥俄州立大学的 Cooper 博士说，贝多芬为什么丧失听力这个谜团仍未解开。他说这个谜团可能会永远持续下去，因为 DNA 不能向我们展示关于我们健康的所有信息。但Cooper又说，这个谜团是使贝多芬如此令人感兴趣和受欢迎的部分原因。哪怕我们不知道也没关系。
研究人员从音乐家贝多芬留下的头发中提取出DNA进行测试。结果显示他曾感染过乙肝病毒。人们普遍认为他的肝脏问题是导致他死亡的原因。但是他为什么丧失听力，依然是个谜。
