Smallpox, once thought an ancient disease, may have emerged in more recent times

(McMaster University) New genetic research from an international team including McMaster University, University of Helsinki, Vilnius University and the University of Sydney, suggests that smallpox, a pathogen that caused millions of deaths worldwide, may not be an ancient disease but a much more modern killer that went on to become the first human disease eradicated by vaccination.

from EurekAlert! - Archaeology http://ift.tt/2ggbn7Q