An ancient strain of plague may have led to the decline of Neolithic Europeans
Thursday, December 6, 2018 - 13:30
in Health & Medicine
Researchers have identified a new strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, in DNA extracted from 5,000-year-old human remains. Their analyses suggest that this strain is the closest ever identified to the genetic origin of plague. Their work also suggests that plague may have been spread among Neolithic European settlements by traders, contributing to their decline.