Oetzi the Iceman had a stomach bug, researchers say

By Rebecca Morelle

Science Correspondent, BBC News

8 January 2016 

Microbes extracted from the insides of a 5,300-year-old mummy have shown he was suffering from a stomach bug before he died, scientists have discovered.

Oetzi the Iceman, the name given to the frozen body discovered in the Alps in 1991, had a bacterial infection that is common today, researchers said.

He had been killed 5,300 years earlier after being struck by an arrow.

The research is published in the journal Science.

This new study suggests he was suffering from an infection that can cause stomach ulcers and gastritis.

A genetic analysis of the bacteria was carried out, helping to trace the history of the microbe, which is closely linked to the history of human migration.

The frozen corpse of Oetzi has allowed scientists to look back at his life in unprecedented detail.

One of the first challenges was to obtain samples from the stomach without doing any damage to the mummy.

Previous research has revealed that he was between 40 and 50 years old, had brown eyes, was covered in tattoos and had recently eaten ibex.

He was found with an arrow in his left shoulder, and most likely died of blood loss. However he also suffered other medical problems, including heel fractures, arthritis and possibly Lyme disease.

Now, to add to his health woes, scientists have now discovered the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

Continued ...

Oetzi the Iceman's blood is world's oldest

Researchers studying Oetzi, a 5,300-year-old body found frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991, have found red blood cells around his wounds.

Blood cells tend to degrade quickly, and earlier scans for blood within Oetzi's body turned up nothing.

Now a study in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface shows that Oetzi's remarkable preservation extends even to the blood he shed shortly before dying.

The find represents by far the oldest red blood cells ever observed.

It is just the latest chapter in what could be described as the world's oldest murder mystery.

Since Oetzi was first found by hikers with an arrow buried in his back, experts have determined that he died from his wounds and what his last meal was.

There has been extensive debate as to whether he fell where he died or was buried there by others.

In February, Albert Zink and colleagues at the Eurac Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy published Oetzi's full genome.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17909396

Oetzi the Iceman's nuclear genome gives new insights

By Jason PalmerScience and technology reporter, BBC News

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.

Analysis of series of anomalies in the Iceman's DNA also revealed him to be more closely related to modern inhabitants of Corsica and Sardinia than to populations in the Alps, where he was unearthed.

'Really exciting'

The study reveals the fuller genetic picture as laid out in the nuclei of Oetzi's cells.

This nuclear DNA is both rarer and typically less well-preserved than the DNA within mitochondria, the cell's "power plants", which also contain DNA.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17191398