Hany Amer

Objective To investigate the true character of the harem conspiracy described in the Judicial Papyrus of Turin and determine whether Ramesses III was indeed killed. Design Anthropological, forensic, radiological, and genetic study of the mummies of Ramesses III and unknown man E, found together and taken from the 20th dynasty of ancient Egypt (circa 1190-1070 BC). Results Computed tomography scans revealed a deep cut in Ramesses III’s throat, probably made by a sharp knife. During the mummification process, a Horus eye amulet was inserted in the wound for healing purposes, and the neck was covered by a collar of thick linen layers. Forensic examination of unknown man E showed compressed skin folds around his neck and a thoracic inflation. Unknown man E also had an unusual mummification procedure. According to genetic analyses, both mummies had identical haplotypes of the Y chromosome and a common male lineage. Conclusions This study suggests that Ramesses III was murdered during the harem conspiracy by the cutting of his throat. Unknown man E is a possible candidate as Ramesses III’s son Pentawere.

Effect of ginseng extract supplementation on testicular functions in diabetic rats

Research from JAMA — Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family

Traveling home to California after an international cardiology congress a few years ago, Dr Gregory Thomas stopped in Cairo to visit Dr Adel Allam, an Egyptian cardiologist and nuclear cardiology expert. Dr Allam took Dr Thomas to see the mummies

In earlier work we have reported that garlic and cabbage extracts can protect laboratory animals from the toxic effects of different mycotoxins. Previous research demonstrated that fumonisin (FB) induced developmental effects in mice, rats and hamsters. The objectives of the present study were to utilize the pregnant rat as an in vivo model to compare the potential of garlic and cabbage seed extracts to prevent the developmental toxicity of FB and the effects of these extracts on sphingolipid metabolism in dam and foetus livers. Six treatment groups included a control group, a group fed on an FB‐containing diet (150 mg kg⁻¹ feed) and groups treated orally with garlic or cabbage extracts (5 mg kg⁻¹ body wt.) with or without FB during gestation days 6–15. Evaluations of toxicity were performed on day 20. These include: maternal (mortality, body weight, feed intake and litter weight), developmental (embryonic resorption, foetal body weight, foetal soft‐tissue anomalies and foetal skeletal examinations) and maternal and foetal sphingolipid metabolism. Fumonisin alone resulted in significant decreases in feed intake, body weight gain, litter weight, number of live foetuses and foetal body weight, whereas it increased significantly the number of resorbed foetuses and the number of skeletal malformations (30.4% for skull and 26.08% for sternebrae) and also increased the sphinganine/sphingosine (Sa/So) ratio in dam but not fetus livers. Garlic alone or plus FB was comparable to the control regarding all the tested parameters. On the other hand, cabbage seed extract alone or plus FB resulted in 10% maternal mortality and a decrease in maternal body weight and litter weight. It resulted in 4.65% skull malformations in foetuses but it was comparable to the control with regard to the other tested parameters. It could be concluded that both garlic and cabbage seed extracts have protective effects in pregnant rats. Moreover, garlic extract was found to have a greater protective effect than cabbage seed extract. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.