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Remnants of spills on Renaissance-era textbook reveal recipes for 'curing' ailments with lizard heads and human feces
- Researchers used proteomics to identify 111 proteins from Vogtherr’s 1531 manuals, revealing reader interactions.
- Proteins linked to plants and animals matched recipes for hair growth and other cures in the text.
- Fingerprints and chemical traces on the manuals show readers tested remedies centuries ago.
- Beedges of beech, watercress, and rosemary were found near recipes for hair growth.
- One protein matched either tortoise shell or lizards, tied to hair-growth remedies.
- Hippo protein traces appeared near mouth and dental ailment discussions in the manuals.
- The study shows readers may have tested remedies, leaving molecular traces on pages.
- The authors plan to expand this work to other historical books to identify readers by proteomic data.
- Live Science highlights the broader goal of understanding early modern household science through molecular traces.
- The study used plastic diskettes to capture proteins from the pages before mass spectrometry analysis.
- The Vogtherr manuals discussed common ailments like hair loss and used home remedies in Renaissance domestic medicine.
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