Medieval Manuscripts Reveal DNA of a Deadly Livestock Disease

TL;DR

Summary:
- Researchers utilized paleogenomics to extract and analyze ancient DNA from 14th-century parchment manuscripts, identifying the presence of *Brucella melitensis*, a pathogen responsible for brucellosis in livestock.
- This study demonstrates the efficacy of using historical manuscripts as biological archives, providing significant insights into the evolutionary history and historical prevalence of zoonotic diseases in medieval Europe.

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