Scientists decode Beethoven’s genome, do we know what really killed him? Genetic insights into famed composer’s illness. Scientists decode Beethoven’s genome, do we know what really killed him? Deafness, liver problems, alcoholism, lead poisoning: the list of known and rumoured afflictions plaguing the life of celebrated composer Ludwig van Beethoven has fascinated historians and scientists alike. Now, researchers have decoded his genome in an effort to learn what really killed him. Beethoven suffered from progressive hearing loss over two decades. By his mid-forties he was functionally deaf. But while the trope of the famous composer who couldn’t hear his own music has been a regular prompt for pub quiz nights, he was equally afflicted with gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, rheumatism and alcohol-related liver disorders, which the researchers say, probably led to his death in 1827. But probably not lead poisoning, as Austrian researchers once suggested contributed to his death. Much knowledge of Beethoven’s illnesses have been assembled from historic accounts, such as his diaries and letters, but now an international team can say what did – and didn’t – play a role in his death. For those hoping for a hitherto unknown explanation, they’ll be sadly disappointed, with multiple indicators of liver disease now unscrambled from his DNA. And while an explanation for his deafness remains sadly, elusive, the researchers behind the investigation are hopeful that more genetic markers in modern-day humans will emerge over time that might point to a culprit in Beethoven’s genome. “Although a clear genetic underpinning for Beethoven’s hearing loss could not be identified [we] caution that such a scenario cannot be strictly ruled out,” says Cambridge PhD student Tristan Begg, who led the study. “Reference data, which are mandatory to interpret individual genomes, are steadily improving. It is therefore possible that Beethoven’s genome will reveal hints for the cause of his hearing loss in the future.”
