There are a lot of things to like about this story on the sequencing of a frozen caveman’s DNA. But nothing tops the revelation that somewhere in Europe there is an Institute for Mummies and the Iceman. If I worked there I would have my business card tattooed on my chest. “Oh that? That’s nothing, just proof I work at the INSTITUTE FOR MUMMIES AND THE ICEMAN.”
Anyway, on to the real news, from the BBC:
New clues have emerged in what could be described as the world’s oldest murder case: that of Oetzi the “Iceman”, whose 5,300-year-old body was discovered frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991.
There are a lot of things to like about this story on the sequencing of a frozen caveman’s DNA. But nothing tops the revelation that somewhere in Europe there is an Institute for Mummies and the Iceman. If I worked there I would have my business card tattooed on my chest. “Oh that? That’s nothing, just proof I work at the INSTITUTE FOR MUMMIES AND THE ICEMAN.”
Anyway, on to the real news, from the BBC:
New clues have emerged in what could be described as the world’s oldest murder case: that of Oetzi the “Iceman”, whose 5,300-year-old body was discovered frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991.
Oetzi’s full genome has now been reported in Nature Communications.
It reveals that he had brown eyes, “O” blood type, was lactose intolerant, and was predisposed to heart disease.
They also show him to be the first documented case of infection by a Lyme disease bacterium.
He also looked like a terrifying uncle gone to seed, if this picture on the BBC is any guide.