All_About_Space_-_Issue_94_2020

What actually

happened

AnalysesofTycho’s

bonesandhair

sincethe 2012

exhumationsuggest

thegreatastronomer’s

suddendeclinewas

justtheinevitable

consequenceofhis

extravagantlifestyle

life of excess

f isotopes– variantsof

elementsthatcanreveal

ins– inTycho’sremains

thatheenjoyeda rich

meatandfishthroughout

• befittinga high-status
  manbutdoingverylittlefor
  health.

esity

MeasurementsofTycho’sbones

• particularlya telltaleratioofthe
  lengthofhisthigh-bonetothe
  diameterofthemarrowcorewithin
  it– confirmthatTychowouldtoday
  beclassifiedasobese.

Onset of diabetes

DISHisoftenassociatedwith

otherdiseasessuchastype 2

diabetes– highbloodsugaranda

lackofinsulinduetoa failureofthe

pancreas– asisobesity.Untreated

diabetescouldbeassociatedwith

thesymptomsofTycho’slastdays.

Alcoholism

Tychowasknowntobea heavy

drinkerthroughouthislife,and

thiscouldhavegivenrisetoan

acuteconditioncalledalcoholic

ketoacidosisthatoftenleadsto

hospitalisationtoday.

Final blow

Tycho’sfinaldays,however,seem

tocloselymatchthesymptoms

ofhyperglycemia– a resultof

untreatedhighbloodsugar

duetodiabetes.Eventoday,

hyperglycemiacarriesa highrisk

offatality.

DISH syndrome

LookingatTycho’sspinerevealed

thathealsosufferedfroma

disorderinwhichthesofttissues

aroundjointsnearthespinecalcify,

fusingvertebraetogether.

Yetdespitethelackofevidencetosupportthe
poisoningtheory,themysteryofTycho’sdeath
seemstorunandrun.Everyfewyearsitseems
thata newsuspectjoinstheline-up.Thereality
ofTycho’sdeath,however,mayberathermore
mundane– thoughequallyrevealinginitsownway.
A 2018 studybySachaKackiandhiscolleagues
pointstoa varietyoflong-termhealthissuesthat
couldhaveledtothecrisisinTycho’shealth.
“Ourworkconsistedofa detailed
paleopathologicalexaminationofhisskeleton,along
witha reconstructionofhisdietandanestimateof
hiscorpulencebasedonCTscansofhisleftfemur.
OurresultsrevealedthatTychoBrahehada very
richdietwitha veryhighinputofanimalprotein
and/oraquaticresources– a dietthathadclearlya
prestigiouscharacter.WealsoshowedthatTycho
wasobeseinthelastyearsofhislife.”
SodidTychosimplyeathimselftodeath?It’s
a littlemorecomplicatedthanthat,continues
Kacki:“Examinationofhisskeletonfurther
revealedthathesufferedfroma pathological
conditioncalleddiffuseidiopathicskeletal
hyperostosis(DISH).Althoughnota life-threatening
conditioninitself,DISHhasvariousmetabolic
comorbidities[accompanyinghealthproblems]
includingobesity,diabetesmellitus,gout,
hypertensionandhyperinsulinemia.Someofthese
conditions– particularlycomplicationsofdiabetes
mellitus– couldwellexplainthefinalsymptoms
beforeTychopassedaway.Althoughwecan’t
establisha definiteandspecificdiagnosis,ourstudy
pointstoso-called‘civilisationdiseases’asthe
possiblecauseofTychoBrahe’sdeath.”

ForKacki’steamt

understandmoreabo

Renaissancenoble

documentedhelpedto

ontheremainsofsomeonewhose

recordedisindeedinteresting,asitallowsfora

morethoroughinterpretationofdatarecordedfrom

hisskeleton.Asanexample,weknowthatbefore

comingtoPrague,TychoBrahehadhismanorand

observatoryontheislandofHven.Thisisimportant

informationtoreconstructhisdiet,becausemarine

foodstuffswerelikelyabundantthere,andthus

probablyplayeda significantroleinthechemistry

wehaverecordedinTycho'sbones.”

JensVellev,meanwhile,havingresolvedthe

‘mystery’ofthepoisoning,isnowimmersedin

studyingdetailsofTycho’sfuneral– inparticular

theornateclothesinwhichhewasburied:“I’m

hopinginthecomingyeartofinishmybookabout

Tycho’sburialinPragueandallthearchaeological

findsandwhatwe’velearned,andwealsoneed

tofinishtheconservationoftheclothesinwhich

hewasburied.Weknowthatitwasa verynice

dresswitha fantasticcollar,andwehopetomakea

reconstructionanda replicaofhisbodysothatwe

canputthefigureofTychoina museumwithhis

dress,shoes,hairandeverything.”

Asidefroma fewfragmentsstoredinlaboratories,

however,Tycho’sremainsarenowonceagain

safelyatrestintheirPraguetomb.Witha plausible

medicalexplanationofhisfinaldays,perhapsthe

controversyaroundthelifeanddeathofthismost

extraordinaryastronomerwillfinallyfadeaway–

thoughhisreputationwillsurelyliveon.

o

chemic

their

sug

dd t of

lif

le

hish

M

newanalysiswasalsoto

outthetypicallifestyleof a

man.Thefactthathislifeiswell

nthepicture:“Working

isquitewell

a

A

F K ki’ h li l

AnalysisofTycho’sskeletonreveals

thatheprobablydiedasa consequence

oflifelongoverindulgence

© x2 images Getty

© Marek Jantač

Ty c h o B r a h e