East Bay Vivarium Blog

The East Bay Vivarium is one of the largest reptile specialty stores in the Nation. We offer the most diverse selection of reptiles in the U.S. with quality service and experience. Our inventory includes snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, tarantulas and much more! Not only do we offer healthy, high quality animals, but we also have all the supplies you need to keep your herp healthy and happy. This blog is a place where we can share a little EBV culture and interesting item of herps in the news.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Identifying 400 year old Bodies

The body of Copernicus has been identified.

Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books.
The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

Polish archaeologist Jerzy Gassowski told a news conference that forensic facial reconstruction of the skull that his team found in 2005 buried in a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Frombork, Poland, bears striking resemblance to existing portraits of Copernicus.

Photo of DNA gel by Flickr user Spanish Flea used under a CCL