Using DNA from the excavated remains of plague victims, including those buried in a London cemetery from 1348–1349, and from people who died earlier and later, researchers searched for evidence of how the Black Death pushed the immune system to evolve.
Courtesy of Museum of London Archaeology
Traces of one of history’s most infamous pandemics may linger in our genes. In this guide, students will learn about a genetic link between the Black Death and a modern-day disease and discuss basic genetics concepts at the individual and population levels.
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