ON Oct 6, 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven penned a letter to his brothers. The letter reflected perhaps the lowest point in the famous composer’s life, for it showed his frustration with the fact that he was becoming deaf. Beyond the physical dimensions of the situation, imagine an artist who cannot see or a composer who cannot hear. It is said that a deaf Beethoven, who had been conducting his masterpiece the Ninth Symphony, had to be turned around to witness the wild applause of the audience. For years, it was a mystery. Why did Beethoven become deaf?

Luckily, those who wonder about such questions may now get answers, as scientists can glean information from organic matter belonging to people who lived a very long time ago. DNA analyses have now progressed to the extent that the hair of those who lived hundreds, even thousands of years ago, can be analysed for information about health and disease, and by extension, the environment in which they lived. In the case of Beethoven, the locks of hair that have recently been analysed are bits that were cut off from his head perhaps as he lay dying. They have been confirmed by DNA analysis to have belonged to him.

An Australian who owned three locks of Beethoven’s hair wanted to honour the composer’s rather prescient wish that future scientists may figure out why he had been so sick. This is how two locks of the hair ended up at the Mayo Clinic in the US, where scientists tested it to see what chemicals........

© Dawn