The story of Dracula is one of the most famous in the world because it gave rise to the myth of the vampire.However, few people know He existed in real life as Vladislav Dracul, better known as Vlad Tepes the Impaler.
Over the years, different historical and scientific studies have been conducted on his figure. However, a recent investigation revealed an important fact, as Dracula may have been a vegetarian.
The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Catania in Italy, focused on three letters written by Count Dracula to the governor of the Romanian city of Sibiu. What they did was look at the different sources of proteins it contained, and that way they gained new information about the puncturer.
Related topics
As part of the legend of Dracula, he and other characters are believed to feed on human blood. But in fact, they suffer from porphyria, a disease that causes severe anemia that was thought to be treatable by controlling blood consumption; and photophobia, which makes them afraid of being exposed to sunlight.
(Also read: What is the origin of the universe? This is what artificial intelligence says).
Now, in a statement to The Independent, the study’s authors have made the new discovery via three letters – one sent in 1457 and two in 1475. The letters containing information about their health, habits and living environment surrounded him.
How did they find out?
A letter can provide a great deal of information through its written content or through other means. In fact, one of them is the protein analysis in these files. They are very helpful in reconstructing specific historical moments.
The letters analyzed by scientists at the University of Catania are well preserved because Romania has established document preservation protocols that have greatly prevented their deterioration.
The first document had to undergo a rigorous restoration process, but great care was taken to avoid contamination. Then, A technique combining ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) extraction and mass spectrometry was used.
For EVA technology, a film of this material is used, similar to plastic. It acts as an ion exchanger to select proteins. This is based on the fact that molecules have positively or negatively charged functional groups, which can be specifically selected using opposing ions (such as magnets) or by changing the pH of the medium.
In this case, a resin sheet is used, which is adhered to the letters. The first thing the researchers did was hold the documents under ultraviolet fluorescent light. It can detect high concentrations of protein by detecting three amino acids: phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan.
(Make sure to read: Antarctica Alert: Sea ice reaches lowest levels on record ).
After locating the proteins, EVA fragments are placed and subsequent processing separates the proteins on the card.
New discovery
The data they found was Human sources of protein mainly come from the skin, sweat glands, respiratory tract, blood and eyes. Likewise, they found proteins derived from mutations associated with diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia, which can cause everything from bronchitis and pneumonia to sinusitis and even infertility.
Additionally, retinal proteins were discovered, which may explain why Dracula cries blood. On the other hand, some are found to be associated with bacteria, viruses, fungi, insects or plants.
In a curious fact, they found that proteins from fungi and insects were associated with the presence of very ripe fruits nearby. This could indicate that Dracula ate a lot of fruit. However, no protein was found to be associated with the consumption of foods of animal origin. It is therefore believed that his diet may have been based on fruits and vegetables, meaning he was a vegetarian.
Daniella Lalat Assad
Digital Scope Editorial
time
more news
Doctors guarantee humans can live to 120 and still work: How?
What is the most devastating extinction event on Earth? Why would another one happen?
8 secrets why a 95-year-old Japanese man looks like a 40-year-old “eternal youth”