Galileo’s body to be exhumed for DNA testing
Galileo’s tomb
Over 360 years ago Galileo died living as a recluse in Italy, a convicted heretic. His crime - he fell foul of the religious authorities of the day by arguing that the Earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa. His theory was subsequently found to be perfectly true.
Italian researchers, led by Prof Paulo Galluzzi, want to exhume his body from the city’s Basilica of the Holy Cross, for DNA tests to find the cause of the blindness that afflicted him. They also want to confirm, through DNA profiling, whether the body that shares his grave is that of Galileo’s beloved daughter, Sister Marie Celeste.
The rector of the basilica is having none of it - describing the plan as disrespectful. The debate continues.
Elaine Warburton www.geneticsandhealth.com
Tags: Ancestry, DNA profiling, Forensics, Galileo, Genealogy and DNA, Genetic Ethics, Genetic Testing, Sister Marie CelesteRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Ancestry, DNA profiling, Forensics, Genealogy and DNA, General Genetics and Health, Genetic Ethics, Genetic Testing
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4 opinions for Galileo’s body to be exhumed for DNA testing
Galileo Galilei potrebbe essere riesumato per test sul DNA - BioBlog
Mar 11, 2008 at 11:02 pm
[…] [via geneticsandhealth] […]
ED
Mar 21, 2008 at 4:32 pm
As for me it’s vandalism to exhume somebody’s body in order to raise a question that made sense 5 centuries ago
Beta Genetics » Blog Archive » Galileo Shakes Up the Church Again with Possible Paternity Test from the Grave
Mar 25, 2008 at 7:04 pm
[…] Italian researchers are petitioning the Church for permission to exhume his body to perform advanced DNA testing that could shed light on the type or cause of blindness that […]
Loretta Grant
Apr 2, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Where could I find the lineage for Galileo?
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