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Wurst C, Maixner F, Paladin A, Mussauer A, Valverde G, Narula J, Thompson R, Zink A. Genetic Predisposition of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Human Remains. Ann Glob Health 2024; 90:6. [PMID: 38273870 PMCID: PMC10809863 DOI: 10.5334/aogh.4366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Several computed tomographic studies have shown the presence of atherosclerosis in ancient human remains. However, while it is important to understand the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), genetic data concerning the prevalence of the disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in our ancestors are scarce. Objective For a better understanding of the role of genetics in the evolution of ASCVD, we applied an enrichment capture sequencing approach to mummified human remains from different geographic regions and time periods. Methods Twenty-two mummified individuals were analyzed for their genetic predisposition of ASCVD. Next-generation sequencing methods were applied to ancient DNA (aDNA) samples, including a novel enrichment approach specifically designed to capture SNPs associated with ASCVD in genome-wide association studies of modern humans. Findings Five out of 22 ancient individuals passed all filter steps for calculating a weighted polygenic risk score (PRS) based on 87 SNPs in 56 genes. PRSs were correlated to scores obtained from contemporary people from around the world and cover their complete range. The genetic results of the ancient individuals reflect their phenotypic results, given that the only two mummies showing calcified atherosclerotic arterial plaques on computed tomography scans are the ones exhibiting the highest calculated PRSs. Conclusions These data show that alleles associated with ASCVD have been widespread for at least 5,000 years. Despite some limitations due to the nature of aDNA, our approach has the potential to lead to a better understanding of the interaction between environmental and genetic influences on the development of ASCVD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Wurst
- Eurac Research –Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
- Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Frank Maixner
- Eurac Research –Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
| | - Alice Paladin
- Eurac Research –Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
| | | | - Guido Valverde
- Eurac Research –Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
| | - Jagat Narula
- Medicine & Cardiology, McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Albert Zink
- Eurac Research –Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy
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Catalán V, Castro M, Cabrera R, Silva-Pinto V, Castro A, Lecaros C. Paleodermatology: Dermatoscopic findings of "Niño del Plomo" an Incan mummy in Chile. JAAD Case Rep 2023; 42:74-77. [PMID: 38156100 PMCID: PMC10753061 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdcr.2023.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Catalán
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mario Castro
- National Museum of Natural History, Santiago, Chile
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Morphology, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Raúl Cabrera
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Verónica Silva-Pinto
- National Museum of Natural History, Santiago, Chile
- Doctoral Programme in Mediterranean Geography and History from Prehistory and Modern Age, Early Modern History Department, Faculty of History and Geography, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Alex Castro
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristóbal Lecaros
- Dermatology Residency Program, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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3
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Saleem SN, Seddik SAER, el-Halwagy M. Scanning and three-dimensional-printing using computed tomography of the "Golden Boy" mummy. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 9:1028377. [PMID: 36760882 PMCID: PMC9902354 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1028377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient Egyptian mummies represent an opportunity to learn more about the health, beliefs, and skills of humans in antiquity. A fully wrapped mummy, from a Late Ptolemaic cemetery (c.332-30 BC) in Edfu, Egypt, has been stored, unexamined, at the Cairo Egyptian Museum since 1916. We hypothesized that scanning and 3D-printing the mummy using Computed Tomography (CT) could help in documenting and promoting its public display. CT enabled non-invasive digital unwrapping and revealed a well-preserved mummy. Biological sex could be determined from the presence of male genitalia; epiphyseal fusion and tooth eruption indicated an approximate age at death of 14-15 years. The deceased had healthy teeth and bones without evidence of poor nutrition or disease. CT detected a high-quality mummification process that included brain removal through an iatrogenic defect of the cribriform plate and viscera removal via a left lower-abdominal incision. The heart remained in the chest as a spiritual symbol. Resin was poured into the emptied cranial and torso cavities, and linen packs were placed inside the torso. The Mummy's external ornamentation includes a gilded head mask, a pectoral cartonnage, and a pair of sandals. CT identified 49 amulets inside the mummy and between the wrappings, arranged in three columns. The amulets have 21 different shapes, including Udjat, scarabs, Ajet, Djed-pillar, Tyt, Placenta, Double-Plume, and Right-angle. CT densities indicated that 30 (61%) amulets were metal (likely gold), and the other amulets were made of faience, stones, or fired clay. The embalmers placed amulets to protect and provide vitality for the body for the afterlife. A gold tongue amulet was placed inside the mouth to ensure the deceased could speak in the afterlife. A Two-finger amulet was placed beside the penis to protect the embalming incision. 3D-printing enabled the tactile and visual study of a heart scarab found inside the thoracic cavity. Findings from this study suggest that ancient Egyptians valued their children and provided them with ritual treatment. State-of-the-art techniques such as CT and 3D printing provided valuable insights and supported the museum display of the mummy, nicknamed "The Golden Boy."
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar N. Saleem
- Department of Radiology, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt,*Correspondence: Sahar N. Saleem, ,
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Siegel JP, Gilcrease G. Augmenting sanitation with insecticides to improve control of navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in California tree nuts. Pest Manag Sci 2022; 78:2034-2042. [PMID: 35122376 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sanitation, consisting of eliminating unharvested nuts (mummies) that serve as both harborage and food source for navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella), is the foundation for control in almonds and pistachios. Sometimes sanitation is ineffective and needs to be augmented. Trials in almonds and pistachios were conducted early October 2005-2006 to determine if insecticides applied postharvest could augment sanitation, and in almonds late March to early May 2016-2020 to establish their duration of control. RESULTS Early October sprays reduced adult emergence by as much as 81.5% in pistachios, but reduction was only 32.4% in almonds. Trapping before almond hull split revealed that 55% of adult emergence occurred between 15 April and 1 June, indicating that an insecticide with a six week duration of control could reduce successful oviposition and neonate establishment. Five insecticides applied from late March to early May belonging to four Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) groups decreased survival for at least six weeks, and some lasted as long as 10 weeks. By contrast, the duration of control in contact bioassays was far shorter. CONCLUSION Insecticides applied from late March to early May successfully reduced the survival of A. transitella in almond mummies for as long as 10 weeks postapplication, and there was a positive relationship between reduction in survival and kernel damage. If these insecticides are applied during mid- to late April, postbloom and before hull split, they can substantially eliminate almond mummies as a resource for 55% of the spring flight of A. transitella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel P Siegel
- USDA Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, CA, USA
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Abstract
The mummy of King Amenhotep I (18th Dynasty c.1525-1504 BC) was reburied by the 21st Dynasty priests at Deir el-Bahari Royal Cache. In 1881 the mummy was found fully wrapped and was one of few royal mummies that have not been unwrapped in modern times. We hypothesized that non-invasive digital unwrapping using CT would provide insights on the physical appearance, health, cause of death, and mummification style of the mummy of King Amenhotep I. We examined the mummy with CT and generated two- and three-dimensional images for the head mask, bandages, and the virtually unwrapped mummy. CT enabled the visualization of the face of Amenhotep I who died around the age of 35 years. The teeth had minimal attrition. There was no CT evidence of pathological changes or cause of death. The body has been eviscerated via a vertical left flank incision. The heart is seen in the left hemithorax with an overlying amulet. The brain has not been removed. The mummy has 30 amulets/jewelry pieces including a beaded metallic (likely gold) girdle. The mummy suffered from multiple postmortem injuries likely inflicted by tomb robbers that have been likely treated by 21st Dynasty embalmers. These included fixing the detached head and neck to the body with a resin-treated linen band; covering a defect in the anterior abdominal wall with a band and placing two amulets beneath; placement of the detached left upper limb beside the body and wrapping it to the body. The transversely oriented right forearm is individually wrapped, likely representing the original 18th Dynasty mummification and considered the first known New Kingdom mummy with crossed arms at the chest. The head mask is made of cartonnage and has inlaid stone eyes. The digital unwrapping of the mummy of Amenhotep I using CT sets a unique opportunity to reveal the physical features of the King non-invasively, understand the mummification style early in the 18th Dynasty, and the reburial intervention style by 21st Dynasty embalmers. This study may make us gain confidence in the goodwill of the reburial project of the Royal mummies by the 21st dynasty priests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar N Saleem
- Department of Radiology, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
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Rossi C, Ruß-Popa G, Mattiangeli V, McDaid F, Hare AJ, Davoudi H, Laleh H, Lorzadeh Z, Khazaeli R, Fathi H, Teasdale MD, A'ali A, Stöllner T, Mashkour M, Daly KG. Exceptional ancient DNA preservation and fibre remains of a Sasanian saltmine sheep mummy in Chehrābād, Iran. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210222. [PMID: 34256582 PMCID: PMC8278039 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Mummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mummification is a rare process that requires an anhydrous environment to rapidly dehydrate and preserve tissue before complete decomposition occurs. We present the whole-genome sequences (3.94 X) of an approximately 1600-year-old naturally mummified sheep recovered from Chehrābād, a salt mine in northwestern Iran. Comparative analyses of published ancient sequences revealed the remarkable DNA integrity of this mummy. Hallmarks of postmortem damage, fragmentation and hydrolytic deamination are substantially reduced, likely owing to the high salinity of this taphonomic environment. Metagenomic analyses reflect the profound influence of high-salt content on decomposition; its microbial profile is predominated by halophilic archaea and bacteria, possibly contributing to the remarkable preservation of the sample. Applying population genomic analyses, we find clustering of this sheep with Southwest Asian modern breeds, suggesting ancestry continuity. Genotyping of a locus influencing the woolly phenotype showed the presence of an ancestral 'hairy' allele, consistent with hair fibre imaging. This, along with derived alleles associated with the fat-tail phenotype, provides genetic evidence that Sasanian-period Iranians maintained specialized sheep flocks for different uses, with the 'hairy', 'fat-tailed'-genotyped sheep likely kept by the rural community of Chehrābād's miners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conor Rossi
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, D02 VF25, Ireland
| | - Gabriela Ruß-Popa
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Archaeological Institute, Archaeological Sciences, Hollandstraße 11-13, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Valeria Mattiangeli
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, D02 VF25, Ireland
| | - Fionnuala McDaid
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, D02 VF25, Ireland
| | - Andrew J. Hare
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, D02 VF25, Ireland
| | - Hossein Davoudi
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
| | - Haeedeh Laleh
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
- Faculty of Humanities, Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran, 1417935840 Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Lorzadeh
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
| | - Roya Khazaeli
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
| | - Homa Fathi
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
| | - Matthew D. Teasdale
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
| | - Abolfazl A'ali
- Zanjan Cultural Heritage Centre, Archaeological Museum of Zanjan, Emaarate Zolfaghari, Taleghani St., Zanjan, Iran
| | - Thomas Stöllner
- Research Department, Haus der Archäologien, Ruhr University Bochum, Institute for Archaeological Studies and Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, Am Bergbaumuseum 31, D-44791 Bochum, Germany
| | - Marjan Mashkour
- Central Laboratory, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, University of Tehran, 1417634934 Tehran, Iran
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, CP 56, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Kevin G. Daly
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, D02 VF25, Ireland
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Oh CS, Lee H, Kim J, Hong JH, Cha SC, Chai JY, Ha CM, Kang RJ, Lim DS, Shin DH, Seo M. Two Helminthic Cases of Human Mummy Remains from Joseon-Period Graves in Korea. Korean J Parasitol 2021; 59:149-152. [PMID: 33951770 PMCID: PMC8106984 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2021.59.2.149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Our previous research on coprolite specimens from the mummies of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910 CE) has revealed various species of parasite eggs. Herein, we added 2 new helminthic cases of human remains from Joseon-period graves in the Republic of Korea (Korea). The organic materials precipitated on the hip bones of 2 half-mummied cases (Goryeong and Gwangmyeong cases) were collected, rehydrated, and examined by a microscope. In the sample from Goryeong-gun (gun=County), ova of Trichuris trichiura, Clonorchis sinensis, and Metagonimus spp. were detected, and eggs of T. trichiura and A. lumbricoides were found from the sample of Gwangmyeong-si (si=City). By adding this outcome to the existing data pool, we confirm our previous estimates of Joseon-period parasite infection rates. The overall rates of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and C. sinensis decreased dramatically from Joseon to the modern period. In Goryeong mummy specimen, we also found Metagonimus spp. eggs that has rarely been detected in archaeological samples so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Seok Oh
- Department of Mortuary Science, College of Bio-Convergence, Eulji University, Seongnam 13135, Korea
| | - Hyejin Lee
- Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification, Seoul 06984, Korea.,Institute of Forensic and Anthropological Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Jieun Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Jong Ha Hong
- Institute of Archaeology and Ancient History, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
| | - Soon Chul Cha
- Seorabeol Institute of Cultural Properties, Gyeongju 38160, Korea
| | - Jong-Yil Chai
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea.,Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Korea Association of Health Promotion, Seoul 07649, Korea
| | - Cheol Min Ha
- Hangang Institute of Cultural Heritage, Bucheon 14502, Korea
| | - Ryang-Ji Kang
- Gaon Research Institute of Cultural Properties, Goryeong 40141, Korea
| | - Do-Seon Lim
- Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Health Science, Eulji University, Seongnam 13135, Korea
| | - Dong Hoon Shin
- Institute of Forensic and Anthropological Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Min Seo
- Department of Parasitology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan 31116, Korea
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Saleem SN, Hawass Z. Computed Tomography Study of the Mummy of King Seqenenre Taa II: New Insights Into His Violent Death. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 8:637527. [PMID: 33681262 PMCID: PMC7925410 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.637527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Seqenenre-Taa-II, The Brave, (c.1558–1553 BC) ruled Southern Egypt during the occupation of Egypt by the Hyksos. The mummy was physically examined and X-rayed in the 1960s, which showed severe head wounds that have prompted various theories about the circumstances of his death. We postulated that Computed Tomography (CT) study of Seqenenre-Taa-II's mummy would give insights into the circumstances of his death. We examined Seqenenre's mummy using CT and compared the findings with the archaeological literature as well as with five Asian weapons found in Tell-el-Dabaa. CT findings indicate that Seqenenre died in his forties. The mummies deformed hands suggest that the King was likely imprisoned with his hands tied. CT images provided detailed analysis of Seqenenre's previously reported injuries to the forehead, right supra-orbital, nose-right orbit, left chick, and skull base. This study revealed additional craniofacial fractures in the right lateral side of the skull that had been concealed by the embalmers beneath layers of material. Analysis of the morphology of the injuries enabled a better understanding of the mechanism of trauma, possible number of the attackers, and their relative position to the King. The size and shape of the fractures correlated well with the studied Hyksos weapons. The lethal attack was aimed at the King's face, likely in an attempt to disgrace him. Mummification of Seqenenre's body was limited to evisceration without brain removal. The desiccated brain is shifted to the left side of the skull. This may indicate that the King's dead body stayed on its left side for some time—long enough for decomposition start before the mummification began. This suggests that the King likely died at a location distant from the funeral place, possibly on a battlefield. The embalmers attempted to conceal the King's injuries; the methods used suggest that the mummification took place in a royal mummification workshop rather than in a poorly equipped location. CT findings of Seqenenre's mummy helped us to better understand the circumstances of his violent death. His death motivated his successors to continue the fight to unify Egypt and start The New Kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar N Saleem
- The Department of Radiology, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Zahi Hawass
- Former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
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Szvák E, Győry H, Sklánitz A, Szabó L, Rosendahl W, Zesch S, Scheffer K, Szikossy I, Simek Á, Pálfi G, Pap I. njures of most probably traumatic origin on an ancient Egyptian mummy’s head. Orv Hetil 2020; 161:2162-2170. [PMID: 33346745 DOI: 10.1556/650.2020.32071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Egy traumás eredetű sérüléseket mutató, ókori egyiptomi koponya vizsgálatát ismertetjük a Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum gyűjteményéből. A jelen cikkben egy mumifikált fej elemzését emeltük ki, ennek átfogó vizsgálatát és részletes eredményeit közöljük. Célkitűzés: Célunk egy multidiszciplináris vizsgálatsorozat megvalósítása volt, amelyen keresztül képet kapunk az egykor Egyiptom területén élt emberek egészségi állapotáról. Módszer: A kutatás során a múmiákon szerves és szervetlen kémiai analíziseket, komputertomográfiai és röntgenvizsgálatot, szénizotópos kormeghatározást végeztünk, és felhasználtunk biológiai antropológiai módszereket is. Eredmények: A koponya igazoltan az ókori Egyiptomból származik, és mivel sebei gyógyulásnak indultak, véleményünk szerint az egyén túlélte a fejét ért behatást. Ez meglepő eredménynek minősül, hiszen ilyen jellegű életveszélyes traumás sérüléseket csak akkor lehet nagy valószínűséggel túlélni, ha megfelelő orvosi ellátás áll rendelkezésre. Következtetés: Úgy gondoljuk, ebben az esetben is ez történt, bizonyítva, hogy az egyiptomi orvosi ismeretek valóban igen fejlettek és az orvoslás magas színvonalú volt. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(51): 2162-2170. SUMMARY INTRODUCTION We are presenting the analysis of an ancient Egyptian mummified head from the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, which shows special traumatic injuries. The examination of this artefact nicely demonstrates the procedures we usually apply in our research on the Egyptian mummies of the Museum. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to implement a series of multidisciplinary studies to get a picture of the health condition of these people once living in the territory of Egypt. METHOD When researching the mummies, we performed organic and non-organic chemical analyses, computed tomography, X-ray examinations, radiocarbon isotope dating as well as biological anthropological methods. RESULTS In this article, we report on the comprehensive examination of the skull and the detailed results we got. The skull is proven to originate from ancient Egypt. CONCLUSION As the wounds began to heal, we can conclude that the individual survived the impact on his head. This is quite surprising as such life-threatening traumatic injuries can only be survived if adequate medical care is available. We believe this was the case also here, i. e., ancient Egyptian medicine was highly developed and of really high standards. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(51): 2162-2170.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enikő Szvák
- 1 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Biológia Doktori Iskola, Szeged.,2 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Embertani Tanszék, Szeged.,3 Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Embertani Tár, Budapest
| | | | - Antal Sklánitz
- 5 Continental Automotive Hungary Kft., Központi Minőségbiztosítási Laboratórium, Budapest
| | - Lénárd Szabó
- 5 Continental Automotive Hungary Kft., Központi Minőségbiztosítási Laboratórium, Budapest
| | - Wilfried Rosendahl
- 6 Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie, Mannheim, Németország.,7 Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim Németország
| | - Stephanie Zesch
- 6 Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie, Mannheim, Németország.,7 Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim Németország
| | | | - Ildikó Szikossy
- 1 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Biológia Doktori Iskola, Szeged.,2 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Embertani Tanszék, Szeged.,3 Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Embertani Tár, Budapest
| | - Ágnes Simek
- 9 Semmelweis Egyetem, Általános Orvostudományi Kar, Népegészségtani Intézet, Budapest
| | - György Pálfi
- 2 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Embertani Tanszék, Szeged
| | - Ildikó Pap
- 2 Szegedi Tudományegyetem, Természettudományi és Informatikai Kar, Embertani Tanszék, Szeged.,3 Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Embertani Tár, Budapest
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Stock SR, Stock MK, Almer JD. Combined computed tomography and position-resolved X-ray diffraction of an intact Roman-era Egyptian portrait mummy. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200686. [PMID: 33234061 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hawara Portrait Mummy 4, a Roman-era Egyptian portrait mummy, was studied with computed tomography (CT) and with CT-guided synchrotron X-ray diffraction mapping. These are the first X-ray diffraction results obtained non-invasively from objects within a mummy. The CT data showed human remains of a 5-year-old child, consistent with the female (but not the age) depicted on the portrait. Physical trauma was not evident in the skeleton. Diffraction at two different mummy-to-detector separations allowed volumetric mapping of features including wires and inclusions within the wrappings and the skull and femora. The largest uncertainty in origin determination was approximately 1.5 mm along the X-ray beam direction, and diffraction- and CT-determined positions matched. Diffraction showed that the wires were a modern dual-phase steel and showed that the 7 × 5 × 3 mm inclusion ventral of the abdomen was calcite. Tracing the 00.2 and 00.4 carbonated apatite (bone's crystalline phase) reflections back to their origins produced cross-sectional maps of the skull and of femora; these maps agreed with transverse CT slices within approximately 1 mm. Coupling CT and position-resolved X-ray diffraction, therefore, offers considerable promise for non-invasive studies of mummies.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Stock
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - M K Stock
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Metropolitan State Univ. of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.,Department of Exercise Science, High Point University, High Point, NC, USA
| | - J D Almer
- The Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA
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11
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Bosco C, Tattoli L, Di Vella G, Ventura F, Verde A, Rocca G. The mourning process and "living with the dead": Two case reports and a review of the literature. J Forensic Sci 2020; 66:407-412. [PMID: 32965718 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of mummified bodies in domestic settings is not unusual in the medico-legal context. It is often a marker of social isolation, even in our urban modern society, and usually occurs among elderly people living alone or in precarious conditions. However, bereaved subjects can sometimes be found managing their grief by deliberately keeping the corpses of their loved ones at home. Investigation of these atypical cases can be challenging and often requires a multidisciplinary effort by different forensic specialists. We report two cases of people who lived for several months with the mummified remains of a relative. In both cases, the judge ordered a forensic psychiatry assessment of the survivors' competency and the reasons for this peculiar behavior, which is regarded as abnormal in our society. Case 1 describes a shared psychosis, which developed out of a condition of extreme seclusion of the entire family. Case 2 shows that even a mild personality disorder on which a series of traumatic events operates can trigger psychotic decompensation, causing extreme denial of the reality of death. The analysis of these cases contributes to our knowledge of the scantly studied phenomenon of "Living with the Dead" and raises questions about the psychopathology behind it. It is useful to identify subjects who are more prone to developing this "deviant" behavior, in order to distinguish people with mental illness from those who merely want to profit from the death of a loved one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Bosco
- Legal Medicine Unit, Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Lucia Tattoli
- S.C. Medicina Legale U, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Di Vella
- Legal Medicine Unit, Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Alfredo Verde
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy
| | - Gabriele Rocca
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy
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12
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Abstract
Paleopathology is a science located in a crossroad between history, archaeology, anthropology, and medicine an can offer unique historical knowledge by using techniques of traditional pathology as well as other branches of Medicine, which is especially fruitful when applied to ancient subjects in which soft tissues are preserved: mummies.
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13
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Loreille O, Ratnayake S, Bazinet AL, Stockwell TB, Sommer DD, Rohland N, Mallick S, Johnson PLF, Skoglund P, Onorato AJ, Bergman NH, Reich D, Irwin JA. Biological Sexing of a 4000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Head to Assess the Potential of Nuclear DNA Recovery from the Most Damaged and Limited Forensic Specimens. Genes (Basel) 2018; 9:genes9030135. [PMID: 29494531 PMCID: PMC5867856 DOI: 10.3390/genes9030135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
High throughput sequencing (HTS) has been used for a number of years in the field of paleogenomics to facilitate the recovery of small DNA fragments from ancient specimens. Recently, these techniques have also been applied in forensics, where they have been used for the recovery of mitochondrial DNA sequences from samples where traditional PCR-based assays fail because of the very short length of endogenous DNA molecules. Here, we describe the biological sexing of a ~4000-year-old Egyptian mummy using shotgun sequencing and two established methods of biological sex determination (RX and RY), by way of mitochondrial genome analysis as a means of sequence data authentication. This particular case of historical interest increases the potential utility of HTS techniques for forensic purposes by demonstrating that data from the more discriminatory nuclear genome can be recovered from the most damaged specimens, even in cases where mitochondrial DNA cannot be recovered with current PCR-based forensic technologies. Although additional work remains to be done before nuclear DNA recovered via these methods can be used routinely in operational casework for individual identification purposes, these results indicate substantial promise for the retrieval of probative individually identifying DNA data from the most limited and degraded forensic specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Odile Loreille
- DNA Support Unit, FBI Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA.
| | - Shashikala Ratnayake
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 8300 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Adam L Bazinet
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 8300 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Timothy B Stockwell
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 8300 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Daniel D Sommer
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 8300 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Nadin Rohland
- Department of Genetics Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Swapan Mallick
- Department of Genetics Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Philip L F Johnson
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology-Psychology Building, 4094 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - Pontus Skoglund
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, London NW1 1AT, UK.
| | - Anthony J Onorato
- DNA Support Unit, FBI Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA.
| | - Nicholas H Bergman
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 8300 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - David Reich
- Department of Genetics Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Jodi A Irwin
- DNA Support Unit, FBI Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA.
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Manavalan MA, Jayasinghe VR, Grewal R, Bhat KM. The glycosylation pathway is required for the secretion of Slit and for the maintenance of the Slit receptor Robo on axons. Sci Signal 2017; 10:eaam5841. [PMID: 28634210 PMCID: PMC5846327 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aam5841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Slit proteins act as repulsive axon guidance cues by activating receptors of the Roundabout (Robo) family. During early neurogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, Slit prevents the growth cones of longitudinal tract neurons from inappropriately crossing the midline, thus restricting these cells to trajectories parallel to the midline. Slit is expressed in midline glial cells, and Robo is present in longitudinal axon tracts and growth cones. We showed that the enzyme Mummy (Mmy) controlled Slit-Robo signaling through mechanisms that affected both the ligand and the receptor. Mmy was required for the glycosylation of Slit, which was essential for Slit secretion. Mmy was also required for maintaining the abundance and spatial distribution of Robo through an indirect mechanism that was independent of Slit secretion. Moreover, secretion of Slit was required to maintain the fasciculation and position of longitudinal axon tracts, thus maintaining the hardwiring of the nervous system. Thus, Mmy is required for Slit secretion and for maintaining Robo abundance and distribution in the developing nervous system in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Ann Manavalan
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Vatsala Ruvini Jayasinghe
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Rickinder Grewal
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Krishna Moorthi Bhat
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
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15
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Mikšík I, Sedláková P, Pataridis S, Bortolotti F, Gottardo R. Proteins and their modifications in a medieval mummy. Protein Sci 2016; 25:2037-2044. [PMID: 27543755 PMCID: PMC5079257 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Proteins and their modifications of the natural mummy of Cangrande della Scala (Prince of Verona, Northern Italy, 1291-1329) were studied. The nano-LC-Q-TOF analysis of samples of rib bone and muscle from the mummy showed the presence of different proteins including Types I, III, IV, V, and XI collagen, hemoglobin (subunits alpha and beta), ferritin, biglycan, vitronectin, prothrombin, and osteocalcin. The structure of Type I and Type III collagen was deeply studied to evaluate the occurrence of modifications in comparison with Type I and Type III collagen coming from tissues of recently died people. This analysis showed high percentage of asparaginyl and glutaminyl deamidation, carbamylation and carboxymethylation of lysine, as well as oxidation and dioxidation of methionine. The most common reaction during the natural mummification process was oxidation-the majority of lysine and proline of collagen Type I was hydroxylated whereas methionine was oxidated (oxidated or dioxidated). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which reports the protein profile of a natural mummified human tissue and the first one which describes the carbamylation and carboxymethylation of lysine in mummified tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Mikšík
- Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 14220, Czech Republic.
| | - Pavla Sedláková
- Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 14220, Czech Republic
| | - Statis Pataridis
- Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, 14220, Czech Republic
| | - Federica Bortolotti
- Department of Diagnostic and Public Health, Unit of Forensic Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Rossella Gottardo
- Department of Diagnostic and Public Health, Unit of Forensic Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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16
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Habicht ME, Bouwman AS, Rühli FJ. Identifications of ancient Egyptian royal mummies from the 18th Dynasty reconsidered. Am J Phys Anthropol 2016; 159:S216-31. [PMID: 26808107 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
For centuries, ancient Egyptian Royal mummies have drawn the attention both of the general public and scientists. Many royal mummies from the New Kingdom have survived. The discoveries of the bodies of these ancient rulers have always sparked much attention, yet not all identifications are clear even nowadays. This study presents a meta-analysis to demonstrate the difficulties in identifying ancient Egyptian royal mummies. Various methods and pitfalls in the identification of the Pharaohs are reassessed since new scientific methods can be used, such as ancient DNA-profiling and CT-scanning. While the ancestors of Tutankhamun have been identified, some identities are still highly controversial (e.g., the mystery of the KV-55 skeleton, recently most likely identified as the genetic father of Tutankhamun). The meta-analysis confirms the suggested identity of some mummies (e.g., Amenhotep III, Thutmosis IV, and Queen Tjye).
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Habicht
- Institute for Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, CH, 8057, Switzerland
| | - A S Bouwman
- Institute for Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, CH, 8057, Switzerland
| | - F J Rühli
- Institute for Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, CH, 8057, Switzerland
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17
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Abstract
Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski. It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Yuan Yeh
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Cambridge CB2 1QH,
UK
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637332,
Singapore
| | - Piers D. Mitchell
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Cambridge CB2 1QH,
UK
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Monge JM, Rühli F. The anatomy of the mummy: mortui viventes docent--when ancient mummies speak to modern doctors. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2016; 298:935-40. [PMID: 25998629 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
There is almost a universal fascination with prehistoric, protohistoric, and historic human remains that preserve the soft tissues (nonskeletal) of the body (general definition of a mummy). While most people within the general public engage with mummies as part of a museum exhibit process, many scientists have taken that fascination much further. Starting as a general fascination with mummification, the scientific process involved in the study of mummies began in earnest in the late 18th Century AD. This issue of the Anatomical Record was conceived and formulated to bring together a series of researchers to highlight their most groundbreaking research on the scientific advances that surround the 21st Century AD study of these preserved biological beings including an illumination of the cultural processes that purposefully or inadvertently are preserved either within their tissues or are present within the context (archaeological) in which they are found (excavated). Twenty-six research articles are presented in this volume on a variety of topics all related to the rich transdisciplinary fields that are now directing their research efforts to the state-of-the art analysis of human mummified remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet M Monge
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Frank Rühli
- Swiss Mummy Project, Centre for Evolutionary Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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19
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Wann LS, Lombardi G, Ojeda B, Benfer RA, Rivera R, Finch CE, Thomas GS, Thompson RC. The Tres Ventanas Mummies of Peru. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2016; 298:1026-35. [PMID: 25998637 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The Tres Ventanas mummies of Peru are thought to be among the oldest mummies in existence, dating to between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. A preliminary assessment is made of the potential of these mummies for use in future research on mummified remains. Although the Tres Ventanas cave and the four mummies were explored and then excavated by Frederic Engel in 1966-67, and the project is named in his honor as the "Engel Study Group", the importance of both the physical remains and the context in which they were found has only come to light in the last few years. Most important is the paleopathological examination of these remains, since these mummies are found in a high altitude area of Peru where adaptation to the limited partial pressure of oxygen is perhaps a key component in broadening our understanding of human diversity in past populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Samuel Wann
- Paleocardiology Foundation, Columbia St. Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| | - Guido Lombardi
- Paleopathology Laboratory, Cátedra Pedro Weiss, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Salamanca, Lima, Peru
| | - Bernadino Ojeda
- Museo Nacional De Antropología Biodiversidad, Agricultura Y Alimentación (MUNABA Museum), Lima, Peru
| | - Robert A Benfer
- University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.,Universidad Nacional La Agraria, Lima, Peru
| | - Ricardo Rivera
- Museo Nacional De Antropología Biodiversidad, Agricultura Y Alimentación (MUNABA Museum), Lima, Peru
| | - Caleb E Finch
- Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.,Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, California
| | - Gregory S Thomas
- Paleocardiology Foundation, California.,Memorial Care Heart and Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach, California
| | - Randall C Thompson
- Paleocardiology Foundation, California.,Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Missouri.,University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri
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20
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Bybin VA, Stom DI. The evaluation of the activity of medicinal remedies of plant and animal origin on the regeneration of the earthworms' tail segments. Pharmacognosy Res 2015; 7:393-6. [PMID: 26692755 PMCID: PMC4660520 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.159581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Now, in the global community there is enough hard recommendation to replace the vertebrate test animals into simpler organisms at the development, testing, and evaluation of the quality pharmaceuticals. The feature of planarian to regenerate in new individual planarian from a piece, which is only 1/7 of the original animal, allowed to create the alternative methods of testing of drugs, dietary supplements, water quality, influence of electromagnetic fields, and other radiations. The tests on planarian can replace the ones that are held today on mammals. However, the lacks of the bioassays based on the planarian regeneration are the need for complex and expensive video equipment for recording the regrowth of worms’ body, the difficulties of culturing of flatworms and fairly long period of response. These difficulties can be avoided by using another group of the worms of type Annelida. The new individual can be fully recovered only from the front half of the body in many species of earthworms. Thus, the influence of the pharmaceuticals from earthworms, mummy, and Orthilia secunda on the ability of earthworms to regenerate lost tail segments has been investigated. The relations of the activity of preparations tested with doses and the time of the storage have been revealed. The principal possibility of applicability of the test reaction studied as a way to evaluate the effects and quality of remedies based on medicinal plants and earthworms has been shown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Alexandrovich Bybin
- Federal State Budgetary Educational Establishment of the Higher Professional Education, "Irkutsk State University", Scientific Research Institute of Biology, Russian Federation, Russia
| | - Daevard Iosifovich Stom
- Federal State Budgetary Educational Establishment of the Higher Professional Education, "Irkutsk State University", Scientific Research Institute of Biology, Russian Federation, Russia
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Santiago-Rodriguez TM, Fornaciari G, Luciani S, Dowd SE, Toranzos GA, Marota I, Cano RJ. Natural mummification of the human gut preserves bacteriophage DNA. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2015; 363:fnv219. [PMID: 26564967 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnv219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The natural mummification process of the human gut represents a unique opportunity to study the resulting microbial community structure and composition. While results are providing insights into the preservation of bacteria, fungi, pathogenic eukaryotes and eukaryotic viruses, no studies have demonstrated that the process of natural mummification also results in the preservation of bacteriophage DNA. We characterized the gut microbiome of three pre-Columbian Andean mummies, namely FI3, FI9 and FI12, and found sequences homologous to viruses. From the sequences attributable to viruses, 50.4% (mummy FI3), 1.0% (mummy FI9) and 84.4% (mummy FI12) were homologous to bacteriophages. Sequences corresponding to the Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Microviridae families were identified. Predicted putative bacterial hosts corresponded mainly to the Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and included Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Clostridium, Escherichia, Vibrio, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Yersinia. Predicted functional categories associated with bacteriophages showed a representation of structural, replication, integration and entry and lysis genes. The present study suggests that the natural mummification of the human gut results in the preservation of bacteriophage DNA, representing an opportunity to elucidate the ancient phageome and to hypothesize possible mechanisms of preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tasha M Santiago-Rodriguez
- Center for Applications in Biotechnology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA Department of Biology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
| | - Gino Fornaciari
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Division of Paleopathology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy Center for Anthropological, Paleopathological and Historical Studies of the Sardinian and Mediterranean Populations, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari 07100, Italy
| | - Stefania Luciani
- Laboratory of Molecular Archaeo-Anthropology/ancient DNA, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino 62032, Italy
| | - Scot E Dowd
- Molecular Research LP (MR DNA), Shallowater, TX 79363, USA
| | - Gary A Toranzos
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00932, Puerto Rico
| | - Isolina Marota
- Laboratory of Molecular Archaeo-Anthropology/ancient DNA, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino 62032, Italy
| | - Raul J Cano
- Center for Applications in Biotechnology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA Department of Biology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
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Boeskorov GG, Potapova OR, Mashchenko EN, Protopopov AV, Kuznetsova TV, Agenbroad L, Tikhonov AN. Preliminary analyses of the frozen mummies of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), bison (Bison priscus) and horse (Equus sp.) from the Yana-Indigirka Lowland, Yakutia, Russia. Integr Zool 2015; 9:471-80. [PMID: 24148659 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The frozen bodies of a young woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), a wild horse (Equus sp.) and a steppe bison (Bison priscus) were recently found in the northern Yakutia (northeastern Siberia). All specimens have preserved bones, skin and soft tissues. Whereas the woolly mammoth and the Pleistocene horse were represented by partial frozen bodies, the steppe bison body was recovered in an absolutely complete state. All specimens were found frozen in the permafrost, with some of the tissues mummified. The wild horse and steppe bison are of Holocene age, and the mammoth is of Late Pleistocene age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gennady G Boeskorov
- Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russia
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Seo M, Araujo A, Reinhard K, Chai JY, Shin DH. Paleoparasitological studies on mummies of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea. Korean J Parasitol 2014; 52:235-42. [PMID: 25031462 PMCID: PMC4096633 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2014.52.3.235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2013] [Revised: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Paleoparasitology is the application of conventional or molecular investigative techniques to archeological samples in order to reveal parasitic infection patterns among past populations. Although pioneering studies already have reported key paleoparasitological findings around the world, the same sorts of studies had not, until very recently, been conducted in sufficient numbers in Korea. Mummified remains of individuals dating to the Korean Joseon Dynasty actually have proved very meaningful to concerned researchers, owing particularly to their superb preservation status, which makes them ideal subjects for paleoparasitological studies. Over the past several years, our study series on Korean mummies has yielded very pertinent data on parasitic infection patterns prevailing among certain Joseon Dynasty populations. In this short review, we summarized the findings and achievements of our recent paleoparasitological examinations of Joseon mummies and discussed about the prospects for future research in this vein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Seo
- Department of Parasitology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan 330-714, Korea
| | - Adauto Araujo
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brasil
| | - Karl Reinhard
- School of Natural Resouces, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Jong Yil Chai
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea
| | - Dong Hoon Shin
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea
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Harer WB, Tapp E. Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783-1872): Pioneer obstetrician and gynaecological surgeon who performed the first scientific autopsy of a mummy. J Med Biogr 2014; 22:101-107. [PMID: 24585591 DOI: 10.1177/0967772013480607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
AB Granville was a pioneer obstetrician and gynaecologic surgeon who performed the world's first myomectomy and the first ovariotomy in England. He also performed the first scientific autopsy of an Egyptian mummy, discovering the oldest known ovarian tumour. He thought it was malignant and caused her death from 'ovarian dropsy'. This study reveals the tumour to be a benign cystadenoma. Further analysis indicates she died from terminal pneumonia from tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eddie Tapp
- Foxdenton House, Sytchampton Stourport on Severn, UK
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Shin DH, Oh CS, Chai JY, Lee HJ, Seo M. Enterobius vermicularis eggs discovered in coprolites from a medieval Korean mummy. Korean J Parasitol 2011; 49:323-6. [PMID: 22072838 PMCID: PMC3210855 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2011.49.3.323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2011] [Revised: 08/04/2011] [Accepted: 08/08/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
While the presence of pinworm eggs in archaeological samples has been reported by many researchers in the New World, those have been detected very scarcely in the Old World, especially in East Asian countries. In fact, many parasite species were recovered from the archeological remains in Korea, eggs of Enterobius vermicularis had not been found. Recently, a female mummy buried in the 17th century was discovered in the Joseon tomb from Dangjin-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. After rehydration process for 12 days, investigations were carried on the luminal surface of the colon. From them, 3 eggs of E. vermicularis were recovered. They were elliptical, transparent with a thin egg shell, 50.3±5.2 µm (length) and 28.2±3.9 µm (width) in size. This is the first discovery of E. vermicularis eggs in East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Hoon Shin
- Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea
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