King Richard III Suffered from a Roundworm Infection, Say Researchers

Researchers from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University reveal that King Richard III suffered from a roundworm infection.

Archeologists from the University of Leicester had discovered the remains of Richard III, who ruled England from 1483 to 1485, under a car park last year. Analysis of the remains have been carried out since then and researchers led by Dr Piers Mitchell used a powerful microscope to analyze soil samples taken from the skeleton's pelvis and skull and found the presence of multiple roundworm eggs in the sample taken from the pelvis region.

They were unable to find similar contamination in the samples taken from near the skull which suggested that the eggs in the pelvis area were present due to a roundworm infection instead of any external contamination.

"Our results show that Richard was infected with roundworms in his intestines, although no other species of intestinal parasite were present in the samples we studied. We would expect nobles of this period to have eaten meats such as beef, pork and fish regularly, but there was no evidence for the eggs of the beef, pork or fish tapeworm. This may suggest that his food was cooked thoroughly, which would have prevented the transmission of these parasites", Dr Mitchell said.

Source: Medindia

Tapeworm Infections

Tapeworms are a group of parasites that depend on humans for growth and cause intestinal infection in them. Tapeworm symptoms and signs include stomach pain, loss of appetite, weight loss.

Neurocysticercosis

Neurocysticercosis or Cysticercosis of brain is the most common cause of epilepsy and the most common parasitic infection of the brain. Neurocysticercosis is more common in the developing countries.

Computer-like Mechanism to Find Meals Used by Roundworms

Biologists at the University of Oregon say that they have found that a primitive roundworm has a computer-like mechanism inside it, which enabled it to find meals and avoid unpleasantness.