An international team of researchers led by McMaster University is decoding the bacteria believed to have caused the black plague.
The disease killed 50 million people in Europe during the mid-14th century. It’s the first time scientists have been able to draft a re-construction of any ancient pathogen.
Mac geneticist Hendrik Poinar says so far though, they can’t tell from the genetic code why the bacteria was so destructive.
They learned about the bacteria from the teeth fragments of victims, buried in a mass grave in England. Experts say the findings reveal something interesting about modern day diseases.
Along with Mac, scientists from Germany and the United States are also working on the project.
Video: Evening News coverage:
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