{
  "id": 17392019,
  "title": "People Used to Drink Wine Made From Ground-Up Mummies. Now, Scientists Are Studying It",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/people-used-to-drink-wine-made-from-ground-up-mummies-now-scientists",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-31T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "404 Media",
    "slug": "404-media",
    "url": "https://www.404media.co/people-used-to-drink-wine-made-from-ground-up-mummies-now-scientists-are-studying-it/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Welcome back to the Abstract—and Happy Halloween! This week's scientific studies explore various theories about the origins of life on Earth and beyond, as well as a peculiar medieval concoction made from ground-up mummies. First, a century-old theory that comets enriched Earth with essential ingredients for life is questioned by new models of ancient impacts. In a study led by Richard Anslow of the University of Cambridge, scientists ran over 100,000 simulations of comet impacts and discovered that key prebiotic molecules found in comets would likely be destroyed during impacts with Earth's ancient surface. This finding suggests that life may have assembled from Earth-based molecules instead, rather than being delivered by comets. Additionally, researchers propose that sea ice on various exoplanets, including Hycean worlds, could serve as a location for the emergence of life, providing a concentrated source of prebiotic molecules. Finally, in a darker tale for Halloween, scientists uncover new molecular and historical evidence on ancient Egyptian embalming practices, revealing a medieval concoction called Mumia vera aegyptiaca—ground-up mummies mixed with wine or other liquids—that circulated in markets for centuries.",
  "summary": "In a new study perfectly timed for Halloween, scientists dug into the chemical properties of a once-popular beverage with purported medicinal benefits: wine made with ground-up Egyptian mummies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}