Plague may seem like an ancient disease, but the bacterium that causes it persists in rodents and fleas around the world. Researchers are warning that it could resurface in a form that our antibiotics can't treat and cause another pandemic
The history books say the infamous plague pandemic of the 14th century killed at least half of the population of Europe. But recent scientific investigations have called that figure into question
Based on clues from pollen, experts in Jena, Germany found the plague had little effect in Ireland and Iberia but killed huge numbers of people in Scandinavia, France and Greece.
Texts written by terrified scribes in plague-wracked cities don’t attest to the state of rural communities, but the crops they were growing (or not growing) certainly do