Medieval History
The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia.
Additional analysis of the medieval HBV genomes may be used as a model to study the evolution of chronic hepatitis B and help understand the spread of the virus, possibly from Africa to East-Asia. It also may shed further light on the migratory pathway of hepatitis B in the Far East from China and Japan to Korea as well as to other regions in Asia and Australia where it is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The reconstruction of the medieval hepatitis B virus genetic code is the oldest full viral genome described in the scientific literature to date. It was reported in the May 21 edition of the scientific journal Hepathology by a research team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem?s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment; the Hebrew University?s Faculty of Medicine, the Hadassah Medical Center?s Liver Unit; Dankook University and Seoul National University in South Korea.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
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Medieval History
16th-Century Korean Mummy Provides Clue to Hepatitis B Virus Genetic Code
The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia.
Additional analysis of the medieval HBV genomes may be used as a model to study the evolution of chronic hepatitis B and help understand the spread of the virus, possibly from Africa to East-Asia. It also may shed further light on the migratory pathway of hepatitis B in the Far East from China and Japan to Korea as well as to other regions in Asia and Australia where it is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The reconstruction of the medieval hepatitis B virus genetic code is the oldest full viral genome described in the scientific literature to date. It was reported in the May 21 edition of the scientific journal Hepathology by a research team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem?s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment; the Hebrew University?s Faculty of Medicine, the Hadassah Medical Center?s Liver Unit; Dankook University and Seoul National University in South Korea.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
- Study Examines Rise Of Agriculture In Stone Age Northern Europe
One of the most debated developments in human history is the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies. This week?s edition of Science presents the genetic findings of a Swedish-Danish research team, which show that agriculture spread...
- Second Oldest Case Of Prostate Cancer Discovered In Egyptian Mummy
Recent radiological findings led by experts from the American University in Cairo may potentially dispel the long held-belief that cancer is a man-made, modern-day disease. With the diagnosis of the first real case of prostate cancer in a mummy, researchers...
- Researchers Reconstruct Genome Of The Black Death
An international team ? led by researchers at McMaster University and the University of Tubingen in Germany ? has sequenced the entire genome of the Black Death, one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. This marks the first time scientists...
- Second Scroll Depicting 'wako' Pirates Found To Be Held By Beijing Museum
The National Museum of China in Beijing holds a picture scroll very similar to one in Japan that was until now thought to be the only pictorial record of the medieval "Wako" pirates, it has been learned. "Wako" is a name meaning "Japanese invader," used...
- 'world's Oldest Movable Type' Found
A Korean academic said Wednesday he has found the world's oldest movable metal print, which predates what is believed to be the world's oldest book printed using movable metal type, "Jikji Simche Yojeol" from 1377. The newly found letters are...