Plague-riddled prairie dogs a model for infectious disease spread
Every now and then, colonies of prairie dogs are wiped out by plague, an infectious disease most often associated with the Black Death of the 14th century.
Every now and then, colonies of prairie dogs are wiped out by plague, an infectious disease most often associated with the Black Death of the 14th century.
Plants & Animals
Jan 13, 2016
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About 6,000 years ago, a bacterium underwent a few genetic changes. These allowed it to expand its habitat from the guts of mice to that of fleas. Such changes happen all the time, but in this particular instance the transformation ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 27, 2014
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You can learn a lot from a tooth. Molars taken from skeletons unearthed by work on a new London railway line are revealing secrets of the medieval Black Death—and of its victims.
Archaeology
Mar 30, 2014
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(Phys.org) —From within an ancient German gravesite to laboratories under the harshest extremes of scientific scrutiny, traces of DNA from a deadly disease illuminate the cold pages of history with modern insight.
Cell & Microbiology
May 20, 2013
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(Phys.org) —A team led by the University of Warwick has pinpointed a new type of exceptionally powerful and long-lived cosmic explosion, prompting a theory that they arise in the violent death throes of a supergiant star.
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2013
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Workers digging a new railway line in London have uncovered what they believe is a burial ground containing victims of the Black Death—a plague that wiped out as much as half of London's inhabitants when it swept the city ...
Archaeology
Mar 15, 2013
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(Phys.org)—The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides us this week with a spectacular image of the bright star-forming ring that surrounds the heart of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097. In this image, the larger-scale ...
Astronomy
Jan 2, 2013
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The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms. New discoveries reported this week help explain how the stealthy agent of Black Death ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 13, 2012
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Around 5,200 years ago, plague was not just present but common in six generations of one Swedish family, according to a new study. The researchers analyzed both the ancient DNA of these people's skeletal remains and the pathogens ...
Archaeology
Jul 15, 2024
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Three-quarters of Colorado prisons are likely to experience a natural disaster in the coming years, but due to aging infrastructure and outdated policies, many are ill-equipped to keep residents safe, suggests new University ...
Social Sciences
Oct 24, 2023
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