Scientists Solve DNA Puzzle of the Black Death
Press stories surrounding the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre's recent work on the completion of the Yersinia pestis's (plague genome).
Oct 12, 2011
Author: Nicholas Wade
Media: The New York Times
Date: October 2011
After the Black Death reached London in 1348, some 2,400 people were buried in East Smithfield, near the Tower of London, in a cemetery that had been prepared for the plague’s arrival. From the teeth of four of those victims, researchers have now reconstructed the full DNA of a microbe that within five years felled one- third to one-half of the population of Western Europe.
Scientists Solve Puzzle of Black Death’s DNA - The New York Times
Surrounding Press Stories:
- Black Death genetic code cracked in work led by Canadian scientists - Winnipeg Free Press
- Researchers trace the roots of Europe's Black Death plague - ABC News
- Black Death genome sequenced from 14th century DNA - CTV News
- Scientists sequence the full Black Death genome and find the mother of all plagues - Discover Magazine
- Black Death Genetic Code "built" - BBC News
- Black Death Genome Revealed - CBC