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Sat, Mar 8 2008

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

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Comments

  1. By Loretta Grant

    Where could I find the lineage for Galileo?

  2. Trackback
    1511 days ago
    Beta Genetics » Blog Archive » Galileo Shakes Up the Church Again with Possible Paternity Test from the Grave

    [...] 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 [...]

  3. By ED

    As for me it’s vandalism to exhume somebody’s body in order to raise a question that made sense 5 centuries ago