Heat from the eruption in A.D. 79 was so intense that it vitrified the brain tissue of one unfortunate Herculaneum resident, a new study confirms.

It was a surprising discovery when scientists examining the remains of a man who died in bed in the ancient city of Herculaneum after Italy's Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD found dark fragments resembling obsidian inside his skull.

Mount Vesuvius was so hot it turned a man’s brain into glass when it erupted, fascinating new research shows. A piece of dark glass was found in the man’s skull, who died in the Roman city Herculaneum almost 2,

Researchers found organic glass in the skull of a volcano victim, indicating the extreme and unique environment triggered by Vesuvius's eruption in 79 CE.

A unique dark-colored organic glass, found inside the skull of an individual who died in Herculaneum during the 79 CE Mount Vesuvius eruption, likely formed when they were killed by a very hot but short-lived ash cloud.

A rare sequence of heating and cooling triggered the chain of chemical reactions that turn organic material into glass.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago turned a victim’s brain tissue into glass. Scientists say they have figured out how this unusual phenomenon occurred.

A man, thought to be the custodian of a religious group, was believed to be in his bed asleep, when a super-hot ash cloud hit Herculaneum.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE presented its surrounding ancient Roman communities with a number of terrifying ways to die: falling debris, collapsing buildings, asphyxiation from superheated dust plumes,

Mount Vesuvius eruption turned man's brain partly into glass - Scientists made the surprise discovery while examining the body of a man who was killed in the ancient city of Herculaneum

Mind Shattering The cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD has fascinated researchers and historians for centuries. Since the early 1700s, engineers have been excavating the remnants of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum,