Beethoven's Hair Unlocks Secrets of His Health and Death

Researchers used five locks of Beethoven's hair to study his DNA and uncover information about his health issues, including a hepatitis B infection that contributed to his severe liver disease and death. They also discovered that Beethoven's Y chromosome did not match his living relatives, indicating an extrapair paternity event. While they could not definitively determine the cause of his hearing loss, they believe it could have been caused by otosclerosis, Paget's disease of bone, or complications from Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis.