DNA from the teeth of medival corpses confirm that the Black Death was caused by Yersinia pestis. [more inside]
posted by Bulgaroktonos on Oct 12, 2011 - 38 comments

Retrospectacle on the Plague. Shelley Batts is a neuroscience PhD candidate who writes the great blog Retrospectacle [Prev]. She's recently posted a series on the bubonic plague: It's real and perceived causes (1 2), the bizarre medical garb doctors used, and modern cases of Yersinia pestis* infection in the U.S. and the world.
posted by McLir on Jan 18, 2008 - 16 comments

Mum, I’m playing a syphilitic Hackney whore being impassively tupped by a boil-faced plague-pit digger in the desperate belief that my pox will cure his plague If you didn't have the chance to see the Channel 4 programme about the Black Death don't worry, this article is much more entertaining.
posted by Summer on Oct 19, 2001 - 4 comments

Black Death Decoded: the BBC is reporting that scientists have decoded the genetic structure of the bacterium responsible for the plague. More information is available here. Meanwhile Harvard is working on an anthrax antidote.
posted by ryanshepard on Oct 3, 2001 - 2 comments