Scientists Explore Egyptian Mummy Bones With X-Rays and Infrared Light to Gain New Insight on Ancient Life

Ahmed Elnewishy, an associate at Cairo University, holds a femur bone sample fro
Ahmed Elnewishy, an associate at Cairo University, holds a femur bone sample from mummified human remains that was studied at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source synchrotron. Elneshy and Cairo University postdoctoral researcher Mohamed Kasem studied dozens of ancient Egyptian bone samples and some soil samples during a two-month visit made possible by a grant-supported program called LAAAMP. (Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab)
Researchers from Cairo University work with teams at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source to study soil and bone samples dating back 4,000 years. Two researchers from Cairo University in Egypt brought 32 bone samples and two soil samples to study using X-ray and infrared light-based techniques at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS). This video shows the Cairo University and ALS scientists at work at the ALS. The ALS produces various wavelengths of bright light that can be used to explore the microscopic chemistry, structure, and other properties of samples. (Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab) Experiments at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are casting a new light on Egyptian soil and ancient mummified bone samples that could provide a richer understanding of daily life and environmental conditions thousands of years ago. In a two-monthslong research effort that concluded in late August, two researchers from Cairo University in Egypt brought 32 bone samples and two soil samples to study using X-ray and infrared light-based techniques at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS). The ALS produces various wavelengths of bright light that can be used to explore the microscopic chemistry, structure, and other properties of samples.
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