The bubonic plague or Black Death that scourged Europe in the 1340s seems to have been far more virulent and contagious than the Yersinia pestis microbe that survives today. Now an old plague-era London cemetery is yielding DNA evidence that may begin to answer some of the mysteries.

Nicholas Wade reports for the New York Times August 29, 2011.
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"The New Generation of Microbe Hunters" (New York Times) [3]