A white dome with, on the left, a big picture of the Sun hanging on a building

🌞😎 #GuidedTours #200years On 14 April at 14h (in French) and 15h (in Dutch), our Solar Physics and Space Weather Department opens its doors for #guidedtours. Now’s your chance to learn more about the Sun! Anyone is welcome but the number of participants is limited. 200year.observatory....

DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals a Surprise 200 Years Later On a stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness.

DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals a Surprise 200 Years Later
(long article)

www.sciencealert.com/dna-from-bee...

#science #sciencealert #Beethoven #classical #hair #200years #dna

On a stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness. Bedridden since the previous Christmas, he was ravaged by jaundice, his limbs and abdomen swollen, and every breath a struggle. As his associates sorted through personal belongings, they uncovered a document Beethoven had written a quarter of a century earlier – a will beseeching his brothers to make details of his condition known to the public. **Related:Fame Can Cut Years From a Singer's Life, Study Reveals** Today it is no secret that one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known was functionally deaf by his mid-40s. It was a tragic irony Beethoven wished the world understood, not just from a personal perspective, but a medical one. The composer would outlive his doctor by nearly two decades, yet close to two centuries after Beethoven's death, a team of researchers set out to fulfill his testament in ways he would never have dreamed possible, by genetically analyzing the DNA in authenticated samples of his hair. Watch the video below for a summary of the research: frameborder="0″ allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> "Our primary goal was to shed light on Beethoven's health problems, which famously include progressive hearing loss, beginning in his mid- to late-20s and eventually leading to him being functionally deaf by 1818," biochemist Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany explained in a press statement in 2023, when the results were unveiled. The primary cause of that hearing loss has never been known, not even to his personal physician Dr Johann Adam Schmidt. Johann Adam Schmidt, Beethoven's physician. (Wikimedia Commons/PD) What began as tinnitus in his 20s slowly gave way to a reduced tolerance for loud noise, and eventually a loss of hearing in the higher pitches, effectively ending his career as a performing artist. **Related:Tinnitus Is Somehow Linked to a Crucial Bodily Function** For a musician, nothing could be more ironic. In a letter addressed to his brothers, Beethoven admitted he was "hopelessly afflicted", to the point of contemplating suicide. It wasn't just hearing loss the composer had to deal with in his adult life. From at least the age of 22 he is said to have suffered severe abdominal pains and chronic bouts of diarrhea. Six years before his death the first indications of liver disease appeared, an illness thought to have been, at least in part, responsible for his death at the relatively young age of 56. In 2007 a forensic investigation into a lock of hair believed to belong to Beethoven suggested that lead poisoning could have hastened his death, if not have been ultimately responsible for the symptoms that claimed his life. Given the culture of drinking from lead vessels and medical treatments of the time that involved the use of lead, it's hardly a surprising conclusion. **Related:Beethoven Really Did Have Lead Poisoning, But That Didn't Cause His Death** This latest study, published in March 2023, debunks the theory, however, revealing that the hair never came from Beethoven in the first place, but rather an unknown woman. More importantly, several locks confirmed as far more likely to be from the composer's head indicate his death was probably caused by a hepatitis B infection, exacerbated by his drinking and numerous risk factors for liver disease. "We cannot say definitely what killed Beethoven, but we can now at least confirm the presence of significant heritable risk, and an infection with hepatitis B virus," explained Krause. "We can also eliminate several other less plausible genetic causes." As for his other conditions? "We were unable to find a definitive cause for Beethoven's deafness or gastrointestinal problems," Krause said. An authentic lock of Beethoven's hair, affixed to a letter dated 1827 and photographed in 2018 by American Beethoven Society member Kevin Brown. (Begg et al., _Curr. Biol._ , 2023) In some ways, we're left with more questions on the life and death of the famous classical composer. Where did he contract hepatitis? How did a lock of woman's hair pass as Beethoven's own for centuries? And just what was behind his gut pains and hearing loss? Given the team was inspired by Beethoven's desire for the world to understand his hearing loss, it's an unfortunate outcome. Though there was one more surprise buried among his genes. Further investigation comparing the Y chromosome in the hair samples with those of modern relatives descending from Beethoven's paternal line point to a mismatch. This suggests extramarital sexual activity in the generations leading up to the composer's birth. **Related:Is The Y Chromosome Vanishing? A New Sex Gene May Be The Future of Men** "This finding suggests an extrapair paternity event in his paternal line between the conception of Hendrik van Beethoven in Kampenhout, Belgium in c.1572 and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later in 1770, in Bonn, Germany," said Tristan Begg, a biological anthropologist now at the University of Cambridge in the UK. It could all be a little more than a younger Beethoven bargained for, considering the fateful request he put to paper. Never would he have dreamed of the secrets that were being preserved as his friends and associates clipped the hair from his body in the wake of that somber stormy Monday night in 1827. This research was published in _Current Biology_. _An earlier version of this article was published in March 2023._

DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals a Surprise 200 Years Later
(long article)

www.sciencealert.com/dna-from-beethovens-hair...

#science #sciencealert #Beethoven #classical #hair #200years #dna

Juniata County Courthouse decorated for the Bicentennial. Mifflintown, 1976. #bicentennial #1970s #1976 #celebrate #celebration #200years #200 #anniversary #revolution #founding #foundingfathers #mifflintown #juniatacounty #courthouse #patriotic #bunting #patioticbunting

Calendar with a view of domes

January 2026 calendar page with a bird's-eye view of an ancient landscape in the countryside with a circular avenue.

August 2026 calendar page showing a row of satellite dishes taken at sunset.

#Christmas #present! Purchase our special 2026 #calendar celebrating #200years of our institute at the Brussels Planetarium https://planetarium.be or order it via www.astro.oma.be/en/....

200 years of neurobiology at the University of Bergen As the University Museum celebrates its 200 years jubilee, researchers reflected on breakthroughs in biological sciences made at UiB and how they relate to today’s research.

In 2025, we celebrate #200years of knowledge at the University of Bergen! An occasion to honor the scientists who came before us and whose legacy we carry on today 🧪🔬 “This story goes from Michael Sars, the vicar and marine zoologist, to Michael Sars, the Centre.” - Prof. Anders Goksøyr ⤵️ 1/2

Spent today filming what I've dubbed 'The Greatest Gala for Rail 200' on my model railway layout today.

#modelrailway #bedroom #layout #modeltrains #trains #engines #hornby #bachmann #steamengines #dieselengines #passengertrains#doubleheaders #cavalcade #autumngala #greatestgala #rail200 #200years

Steam, a steam engine at Celthenham Station on the GWR heritage railway line in Gloucestershire. #seam #railway #railroad #steamengine #train #trains #CelthenhamStation #GloucestershireandWarwickshireRailway #gwr #photography #200years

HAPPY 200 YEARS OF THE WORLDS FIRST EVER RAILWAY IN THE #UK!

#Railway200 #railways #rail #rails #trains #train #locomotives #steamlocomotives #locomotive #locomotion #steam #unitedkingdom #UKRailways #200years #year1825 #steamforever #railwaypreservation #historicmoment #stockton #darlington

#travelbytrain
#200years

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#travelbytrain
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#travelbytrain
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#travelbytrain
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#travelbytrain
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Happy 200th anniversary to all rail enthusiasts, drivers and workers on the railway. I wish you all a great anniversary day or weekend.

#railway200 #200years

Xandria no Brasil em outubro - Confraria Floydstock Xandria confirma shows no Brasil em 11 e 12 de outubro. Turnê destaca a nova fase com Ambre Vourvahis e o EP Universal Tales.

Xandria no Brasil em outubro

Banda se apresentará pela 1ª vez no país trazendo Ambre Vourvahis ao microfone.

confrariafloydstock.com/xandria-no-b...

#Xandria #AmbreVourvahis #MetalSinfônico #UniversalTales #TheWondersStillAwaiting #200Years #Brasília #SãoPaulo #ToinhaBrasilShow #JaiClub #Shows

200 year old wisteria tree. Hyogo, Japan.

#Japan🇯🇵 #Hyogo #Tree #200years #old #bloomscrolling #photography #nature #scape #landscape #flowers

Today we celebrate the 200 anniversary of the independence of Bolivia 🇧🇴, the first country to start the Latin American revolution for independence… and the last one to get it.
Happy Independence Day to Bolivia, let’s keep moving forward!!
#bolivia #independence #200years

Wellington Monument

#Obelisk #wellingtonmonument #shadow #somerset #phonephoto #photography #noir #tower #200years

18 May 1825: Proclamation of the Archdeaconry of New South Wales, following the arrival in Sydney of the Ven. Thomas Hobbes Scott, first Archdeacon (and King's Visitor to all schools in the colony). #anglican #200years The #bicentenary of the first local church organisation.

has been KILLING Coal Miners for over #200Years in the USA. The miners were of course unmasked as they chipped away chunks of coal, and children were brought in to pick up the small pieces missed. The clogging coal dust was coated in their noses, ears, mouths, eyes & under their nails. And they were

The ornithopod Iguanodon was described on February 10, 1825. And on this day, is February 10, 2025.
It’s been exactly 200 years since the “iguana tooth” dinosaur was described and named in a scientific paper!
#200years #Iguanodon

A very special anniversary for CMS Australia today: 8 February 1825, formation of the "Auxiliary Church Missionary Society for Australasia", the first local CMS branch, at a meeting in Sydney chaired by NSW Senior Chaplain the Rev. Samuel Marsden. #bicentenary #200years

26 January 1825: commemoration of what was then called "Anniversary Day" in Sydney. #200years #AustraliaDay Exactly 200 years later, I sat at Dawes Point, at noon, and listened to a 21-gun salute.

Today marks the bicentenary of the birth (19 January 1825) in Perth, Scotland, of Alexander Rutherford Russell, the second Dean of Adelaide (and sixth Australian Dean) from 1869 to 1886. #anglican #200years He served as Dean while Rector of St Paul's Pulteney Street.

The next step in the T. H. Scott #bicentenary: 9 January 1825, the "Hercules" finally departs Portsmouth for Sydney, with 135 convicts. The ship is also carrying a large collection of fruit trees for the colony, "silver plate and trimmings for all the churches" - and Archdeacon Scott. #200years

Xandria libera clipe de “200 Years”, faixa do novo EP “Universal Tales”; assista - Confraria Floydstock O Xandria, um dos principais nomes do metal sinfônico da Alemanha, acaba de lançar o clipe da música “200 Years”, faixa que integra o novo EP da banda,

Xandria libera clipe de “200 Years”, faixa do novo EP “Universal Tales”; assista

Trabalho completo chegará no dia 22 de novembro, via Napalm Records

https://buff.ly/3Z2VYuc

#xandria #200years #universaltales #symphonicmetal #metal #rock #music #musica #rock #music #musica #confrariafloydstock

Happy Anniversary Manchester Met The University is celebrating turning 200 years old

www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

A fabulous time for AHEAD to launch during the 200th Anniversary to celebrate the Research Coming out of the Arts and Humanities Faculty

#ManMetUni #ManMet #ManchesterMetropolitanUniversity #Manchester #University #MMU #McrMetProud #200years