[MR] BBC: Black Death DNA decoded

[Garth Groff]

Noble friends,

So we don't do plagues in the SCA, but they are are a valid subject for 
study. This brief BBC story (also carried in different form today on 
NPR) is about sequencing the plague's DNA using material from the teeth 
of victims buried in Smithfield: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15278366 .

Here's a related story on how the "Little Ice Age" contributed to the 
epidemic. This is briefly mentioned in the above story, but explored 
here in more depth: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4755328.stm .

Enjoy, and be thankful there are cures for this scourge now.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier (That Crazy Scot)