8/6/2019 Shipwreck Off North Carolina Offers Clues About Black Beard the Pirate

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Shipwreck Off North Carolina Offers Clues About Blackbeard thePirate

JIM TEDDER: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm JimTedder.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I'm Christopher Cruise. This week, we will tell about ashipwreck discovered near the coast of North Carolina. We also answer a listenersquestion about the disease fibromyalgia.(MUSIC)JIM TEDDER: Beaufort, North Carolina, is a small town in the southeastern UnitedStates. Many people who live in this part of the country are fishermen. They make their living in the nearby Atlantic Ocean.Three hundred years ago, Beaufort was the home of Edward Thatch, who also made hisliving on the water. But he was not a fisherman. He was feared by many and known as

Blackbeard the Pirate.One of Blackbeards ships, Queen Annes Revenge, was discovered under seven metersof water near Beaufort fifteen years ago. Since then, scientists have been studying theship and bringing to the surface many of the artifacts -- things made by hand -- that theyhave found.An exhibit of those objects opened last month at the North Carolina Maritime Museumin Beaufort. David Moore is the museums Nautical Archeologist.David Moore: One of the first items that came up from the site back in nineteen ninety-six, when it was first discovered, was a bell. Part of the inscription on the bell was thedate seventeen-oh-five. And so when you can find an artifact that very comfortablydates the site to the appropriate period, thats exciting for an archeologist.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: David Moore believes that Blackbeard once had three or four hundred men and four ships under his command. They sailed up and down theAtlantic Coast and stole anything of value from other ships.DAVID MOORE: Most of what these guys were grabbing was food, alcoholic

beverages, spare cannons, sails, anchors -- anything that they needed to get by on a dayto day basis.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: But what about the stories of pirate treasuresilver andgold and jewels? How much of that has been found?DAVID MOORE: Very small, tiny bits of gold that would have been picked up instreams in West Africa, and panned, and collected. And what we have on Queen AnnesRevenge is probably somewhere around fifteen grams, five thousand little tiny bits of gold.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Finding the artifacts and bringing them to land can bedifficult. Most of them need months or even years of cleaning before they can be put ondisplay in the museum. The objects are usually covered with sand and seashells that arehard to remove without causing damage.DAVID MOORE: For every month we spend in the field, mapping and excavating andrecovering material, theres a corresponding eleven to twelve months in the laboratory.JIM TEDDER: Recently, a large anchor from the ship was discovered and moved toland. But it is so huge that it may be five years before it can be cleaned enough to beseen by the public.

8/6/2019 Shipwreck Off North Carolina Offers Clues About Black Beard the Pirate

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8/6/2019 Shipwreck Off North Carolina Offers Clues About Black Beard the Pirate

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Dr. Rothenberg told VOA that some people who develop fibromyalgia have a familyhistory of the disease. He says researchers have found abnormal genetic factors to bemore common in some families.RUSSELL ROTHENBERG: Well, we know that it could be genetic. And we knowthat there are certain families where there is a high incidence of fibromyalgia in three

generations. So were still learning about the genetics of fibromyalgia our knowledgeof who is more at risk for developing this hypersensitivity of pain in the central nervoussystem.JIM TEDDER: The signs of fibromyalgia are complex. Many patients suffer fromweakness or what is called a pins and needles feeling in the arms and legs. They mayalso have dry eyes, head pain and bowel problems. Most patients have pain everywherein their body. The pain can be so intense that, in some cases, even the weight of clothingis too much. Yet some patients have trouble persuading their doctor that their pain isreal.One study found that some patients had to wait three to five years before doctorsconfirmed the presence of fibromyalgia. One reason for the delay was that many

patients looked healthy. And identifying the cause of the pain can be difficult, especiallyfor untrained doctors.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Doctors who left medical school before nineteen-ninety maynot be familiar with fibromyalgia. That is because the disease was only given its namein nineteen ninety. There are currently no blood tests or medical imaging tests to helpdoctors with their diagnosis.Long delays in the identification and treatment of fibromyalgia can lead to severedisability and the inability to work. People can also be unable to perform the simpleactivities of daily living without assistance because of the severe myofascial pain.JIM TEDDER: Dr. Rothenberg says he needs at least an hour with a new patient to findif they are suffering from fibromyalgia. That is much longer than many doctors give toone patient.RUSSELL ROTHENBERG: My experience and other doctors in the field talk aboutthe holistic, comprehensive care thats required to treat a fibromyalgia patient, and thatrequires time. And we need to go through all their meds, all their organ systems, their exercise, how theyre functioning.CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Some patients are misdiagnosed as suffering fromdepression because many of the symptoms are the same poor sleep patterns, depressedfeelings and pain all over the body. And some patients were told that the pain was notreal, that they were just imagining it or that that they had mental problems.

Next week, we will hear more from Dr. Rothenberg. We also will hear from a drug

company that is advertising a product to treat fibromyalgia. And we will talk with adoctor who is critical of that advertising.(MUSIC)MARIO RITTER: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written and read by Christopher Cruise and Jim Tedder. Our producer was June Simms. Im Mario Ritter. Join us againnext week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.