A DNA test has proved that a poor man in Austria is one of the last living relatives of Adolf Hitler.

The 46-year-old farmer, thought to be a cousin of the former German dictator, was horrified to learn the blood of the ‘greatest criminal’ is in his veins.

But the man, tracked down by Belgian journalist Jean-Paul Mulders, is not alone.

Mr Mulders, who persuaded the man to take a mouth swab test, says there are as many as 39 others living in the remote Waldviertel region of Austria where he comes from.

The area was home to Hitler’s grandmother, Anna Schicklgruber, father Alois and mother Klara.

After the end of the Second World War, the name Hitler completely vanished as those who bore it had it changed.

Many families there still bear similar names, though, like Hiedler and Huettler.

How did the journalist get Hitler’s DNA?

The journalist had previously garnered some Hitler DNA covertly by taking a serviette dropped by one of three known Hitler descendants who live on Long Island, New York.

One of them, Alexander Stuart-Houston, 61, a grand-nephew of Hitler, was trailed for seven days before the dropped the litter which Mulders said led him to the relation in Austria.

Am I the only one who feels this is a gross invasion of privacy? Post your thoughts here.

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Italian researchers are claiming that famed artist Caravaggio’s mad exploits were the result of lead poisoning from the paints he used.

A team of anthropologists hope to prove their theory by carrying out DNA tests on bones which they believe are the remains of the Renaissance artist.

Caravaggio was renowned for his hot temper, heavy drinking and violent temperament and was forced to go on the run in 1606 after killing a man in a tavern brawl, a crime for which he was condemned to death by Pope Paul V.

He died in July 1610 at the age of 39, with mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death ever since.

It has been suggested he contracted syphilis or even that he was assassinated but anthropologists from the universities of Pisa, Ravenna and Bologna are studying other theories – that he contracted malaria while travelling in Italy or that he suffered from lead poisoning.

“Lead poisoning accentuates traits like aggressive and nervous behaviour, which Caravaggio displayed during his life,” said Silvano Vinceti, the team leader.

“Painters in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries used these paints all the time and often suffered serious health problems as a result.”

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A new DNA study has shown that Tutankhamun was disabled, inbred, and died of malaria.

The report is the first DNA study ever conducted with ancient Egyptian royal mummies. It apparently solves several mysteries surrounding King Tut, including how he died and who his parents were.

“He was not a very strong pharaoh. He was not riding the chariots,” said study team member Carsten Pusch, a geneticist at Germany’s University of Tübingen. “Picture instead a frail, weak boy who had a bit of a club foot and who needed a cane to walk.”

Regarding the revelation that King Tut’s mother and father were brother and sister, Pusch said, “Inbreeding is not an advantage for biological or genetic fitness. Normally the health and immune system are reduced and malformations increase,” he said.

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Scientists are coming closer to completing a draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome, prompting some to speculate on the possibility of cloning.

Some scientists believe that by making changes to the DNA inside a human cell — thousands or even millions of changes, that is — the human genome can be altered to match the recreated Neanderthal one. One cell is just a step towards  a living creature, but it’s a key one.

Advances in stem cell science have led to proposals to alter a stem cell’s DNA to match the Neanderthal genome. That stem cell would be left to reproduce, creating a colony of cells that could be programmed to become any type of cell that existed in the Neanderthal’s body — even an entire person. Archaeology cites Robert Lanza, biotech firm Advanced Cell Technology’s chief science officer, who notes that species such as cows and goats are now routinely cloned with few problems.

There are many technical obstacles, but it’s reasonable to suppose that scientists could soon use that long-extinct genome to safely create a healthy, living Neanderthal clone. But should it be done?

That’s the question that inspired author Zach Zorich to dig into the issue. He points out that legal precedents are on the side of Neanderthal human rights, noting that such a creature would deserve human rights.

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An analysis of the DNA of ancient human hair has been used to give clues as to what the owner/grower of the hair looked like. [Thx Tron]

A study, published in the journal Nature, says the individual’s genome is the oldest to have been sequenced from a modern human.

The researchers say the man, who lived 4,000 years ago, had brown eyes and thick dark hair, although he would have been prone to baldness.

They say the genome also shows that his ancestors migrated from Siberia.

The man has been named Inuk, which means “human” in the Greenlandic language.

“We wanted to acknowledge that he was from Greenland, even though he is not a direct ancestor of modern Greenlanders,” said Professor Eske Willerslev from the University of Copenhagen, who took part in the study.

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