Vlad III Dracula, historically known as Vlad the Impaler, is said to have inspired Bram Stoker to create the notorious vampire Dracula. Born as Vlad Tepes, the Transylvanian is known for his penchant for impaling his opponents as a warning sign to his enemies. Now several scientists are trying to extract the notorious monarch’s DNA from letters associated with him.

Last goal? “To get an idea of ​​​​not only the appearance of the Wallachian commander, but also the climatic conditions in which he lived”. This may sound strange. How can DNA preserved in saliva or tears that dried among papers a hundred years ago help reconstruct the face and physical features of a long-dead person? Surprisingly, it is not impossible for scientists today. A company called Parabon Nanolabs claims that it can predict a person’s physical characteristics using just a DNA sample.

New York-based artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects DNA dumped by the roadside and claims it’s enough to determine “where one’s ancestors came from, gender, eye color, hair, skin color, freckles, a tendency to be overweight, and various facial sizes.” . she also with a certain probability,” he tells CNN.

Earlier, Israeli company Corsight AI also said it offers a “DNA to Face” service that can create a human face using only a DNA sample, according to MIT Technology Review. Dracula seems to be next on the scientist’s wish list. “Protein detectives” Gleb and Svitlana Zilbershteyn claim to have succeeded in extracting biochemical traces from a letter signed by Vlad Tsepes. These biochemical footprints include molecules such as proteins and metabolites.

“These molecules are more stable than DNA and provide more information about environmental conditions, health, lifestyle and diet of historical people,” the duo told The Guardian.

Using biomolecules extracted from the pages of the manuscript, the couple also claim to have concluded that the famous writer Mikhail Bulgakov was using drugs and was suffering from kidney disease. They performed a similar analysis on the shirt of the famous short story writer Anton Chekov, found signs of tuberculosis, and looked at the medical history of science fiction icon George Orwell. The couple also worked on a biochemical analysis of the mammoth’s trunk to understand the environment in which these woolly elephants’ ancestors lived, based on the types of microorganisms that lived in its body.

The Silbersteins had previously studied the models of the Crusaders and their Saracen enemies, and collected biomolecule samples from the ceramics of their time. As for the Transylvanian tyrant, the two studied a letter he allegedly wrote or signed in 1475. It will be interesting to see if recent research reveals a face different from what we know from pictures that show Vlad Tepes as a slender man with a thin face and sharp cheek lines. Source