Old bones could hold the key to tuberculosis

Jul 16 2008

Close to 50 boxes of human and animal bones excavated in Jericho and held in the University of Sydney's Nicholson Museum could hold the key for an international medical team to unlock the causes of tuberculosis.

The bones were excavated by British archaeologist Dr Kathleen Kenyon between 1952 and 1958, were brought to the Nicholson in the 1950s. They remained largely untouched until about eight years ago when one of the world's leading medical archaeologists, and University of Sydney medical alumnus, Professor Mark Spigelman accidentally discovered the bones while looking through the stores of the Nicholson Museum.

"It was like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for him," says senior curator of the Nicholson Museum, Michael Turner.

The discovery was to be hugely significant and began an international attempt to begin expert DNA examination of the bones from Jericho - one of the earliest towns on earth, dating back to 9000 BC.

By examining these remains, researchers would be able to see how communicable diseases first developed and could possibly give clues about how diseases such as TB could be combated.

"The Nicholson Museum's bones had remained unresearched for many years, but now through medical breakthroughs such as DNA, they could be used for ground-breaking research," says Michael Turner.

Today, the bones, along with bones held by Cambridge University and the British Museum are being studied by a joint Israeli-Palestinian-German research group and will be tested for tuberculosis, leprosy, leishmania and malaria, but primarily TB.

Professor Spigelman, a world-renowned pioneer in the study of ancient diseases, and now of the Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, heads the Israeli team. He is working alongside researchers from the Al-Quds University West Bank and the University of Munich on this project.

"It's very humbling to think that the Nicholson Museum has played such a critical part in getting the ball rolling in such a cutting-edge area of medical research," says Michael Turner.