The return of the Black Death.

• Position: DNA - Yersinia pestis - Brief article

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The Black Death, or bubonic plague, wiped out nearly half of Western Europe's population starting around 1350. Now the bacteria that caused one of history's most deadly pandemics--Yersinia pestis--is back, but this time in a laboratory. Using the DNA from the teeth of four London plaque victims, scientists are reconstructing the microbe to figure out why it was so deadly. A nearly identical version of the ancient bacteria, which was carried by fleas and rats, is still common in parts of the world. But the modern plague...