An ancient strain of plague may have led to the decline of Neolithic Europeans

(Cell Press) A team of researchers from France, Sweden, and Denmark 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, publishing Dec. 6 in the journal Cell, 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.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science https://ift.tt/2E1JWcR