Audio
Archive
2013
January
February
March
April
May
2012
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2011
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2010
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2009
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2008
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2007
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Subscribe
Sep. 02, 2011
DNA Detective Work Identifies Black Death Culprit
Click 
to enlarge images
to enlarge images
|
|
Tweet |
| Reporting in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers write that a strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis was indeed the culprit behind the Black Death, a point long debated by scientists and historians. Ira Flatow and guests discuss the Plague’s history, and its cause. |
Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer
Guests
-
Hendrik Poinar
Evolutionary geneticist
Department of Anthropology
Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
McMaster University
Hamilton, Canada -
Michael McCormick
Chair, Science of the Human Past program
Goelet Professor of Medieval History
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
FEATURED READING
Brilliant Blunders
by Mario Livio
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED BLOG POSTS
- Predicting Storms, Electroshock Therapy, Germaphiles, and More
Each week we’ll round up links to science stories or studies that blow our mind, tickle our funny bone, or generally strike our ...
- The Perils of Plankton
An artist magnifies an overlooked environmental problem in sculptures that are larger than life.
- Brilliant Blunders
Were the theories of illustrious minds such as Linus Pauling and Albert Einstein free of serious blunders? Absolutely not!
- Meet Susan Barry, Neurobiologist and 3D Visionary
Susan Barry could only see in two dimensions until age 48, when her life changed forever.
Discussion