Ancient Beer Contained Tetracycline

Researchers found that ancient Egyptians and Nubians regularly drank beer that contained tetracycline, an antibiotic modern scientists did not identify until 1948. The brew likely picked up the drug from the fermentation process, which introduced antibiotic-producing bacteria into the grain-based beer. Because they consumed it in large quantities, people in the region were effectively dosing themselves with an antibiotic.

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