Put it this way #ows at least things are better than 1337
Now these guys had it rough.
The researchers hope eventually to modify a living plague bacterium so that its genome is identical to that of the agent of the Black Death. Such a microbe could be handled only in special secure facilities. But even if it did infect a human, the ancient plague would presumably be susceptible to antibiotics, like its living descendant, said Hendrik Poinar of McMaster University, a member of the team. If the microbe’s genome is so little changed, the deadliness of the Black Death may reflect the condition of its medieval victims. Harsh as the economic stresses assailing Europe today may be, they are a breeze compared with problems in the mid-14th century. The climate was cooling, heavy rains rotted out crops and caused famine, and the Hundred Years’ War began in 1337. People were probably already suffering from malnutrition and other diseases when the plague arrived like the fourth horseman of the apocalypse. “People honestly thought it was the end of the world,” said Ms. Bos, a doctoral candidate.
(Source: The New York Times)
