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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 26 2017, @03:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the scraping-by dept.

Scientists can use the shavings of a polyvinyl chloride eraser used on old books to identify bookworm species, which types of animals were used to make parchment and leather bindings, and even isolate microbial and human DNA:

[Researchers found that the 12th-century copy of the Gospel of Luke had a cover that] was made of the skin of roe deer, a species common in the United Kingdom. But the strap was made from a larger deer species, either native red deer or fallow deer introduced from continental Europe, possibly by the Normans after their invasion in 1066. [postdoctoral fellow Sarah] Fiddyment speculates that the book may have captured a transitional moment when native roe deer were declining and landowners and monasteries stocked parks with bigger deer.

[...] Parchment eraser shavings also yield DNA that can trace specific breeds and their use over time. For example, in a 2014 study of DNA from two pieces of parchment from the 1600s and 1700s, [biochemist Matthew] Collins's team showed that a big shift occurred in the breed of sheep raised in the midlands of the United Kingdom, from a scrappier, black-faced, highland variety to a meatier, lowland breed.

[...] The York Gospels also offer a rare record of the people of the book: Almost 20% of the DNA [postdoc Matthew] Teasdale extracted from its eraser shavings came from humans or microbes shed by humans, he announced at the symposium. This is the only surviving Gospel book to contain the oaths taken by U.K. clergymen between the 14th and 16th centuries, and it's still used in ceremonies today. Pages containing oaths were read, kissed, and handled the most, and these pages were particularly rich in microbial DNA from humans, Teasdale reported.

For example, researchers identified DNA from bacteria known to live in human skin and noses, including an abundance of two genera—Propionibacterium, which causes acne, and Staphylococcus, which includes strains that cause staph. Thus the "crud" that mars the surface of many books and documents is a well-preserved bioarchive of bacteria that infected people who handled the books, [historian Peter] Stallybrass says.

Of course, how much of that DNA is contamination by recent handlers of a manuscript is tough to tell. Researchers are seeking creative solutions to find out. Many medieval manuscripts contain pages with darkened or discolored areas and smudged fingerprints, signs of being regularly touched or kissed long ago. If Teasdale could sample such smudges in devotional prayer books used heavily by one person, he predicts that "the main user's original DNA could be retrievable." For example, an image of Christ on the cross in the Missal of the Haarlem Linen Weavers Guild (circa 1400 C.E.) was apparently kissed repeatedly by a Dutch priest, who may have left secretions from his lips and nose on the feet of Christ and on the cross. Eraser shaving DNA might reveal that priest's hair and eye color, ailments, and ancestry.

By sampling roughly dated parchment documents, researchers could also trace changes in the ethnic identity of people who made and used books over time, and perhaps identify some of their diseases. Bradley is seeking samples from books that have identifiable contrasts between early and later users, such as books that have been moved from one continent to another.

Will we sequence the genome of Isaac Newton?


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday July 26 2017, @09:26PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday July 26 2017, @09:26PM (#544871)

    There is no question.

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