Before composer Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 27, 1827, it was his wish that his ailments be studied and shared so "as far as possible at least the world will be reconciled to me after my death."Now, researchers have taken steps to partially honor that request by analyzing Beethoven's DNA from preserved locks of his hair and sequencing the composer's genome for the first time.A study detailing the findings published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. 

"Our primary goal was to shed light on Beethoven's health problems, which famously include progressive hearing loss, beginning in his mid- to late-20s and eventually leading to him being functionally deaf by 1818," said study coauthor Johannes Krause, a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, in a statement.The five hair samples helped scientists discover insights about family history, chronic health problems and what might have contributed to his death at the age of 56.

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