Rats exonerated ... Gerbils take hit

[Suradit69]

Looks like it's OK to cuddle up with rats but you might want to rethink any intimacy with gerbils.

Rats 'not main cause of Black Death'

Black rats may not have been to blame for numerous outbreaks of the bubonic plague across Europe, a study suggests.


Scientists believe repeat epidemics of the Black Death, which arrived in Europe in the mid-14th Century, instead trace back to gerbils from Asia.
Prof Nils Christian Stenseth, from the University of Oslo, said: "If we're right, we'll have to rewrite that part of history."
The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Black Death, which originated in Asia, arrived in Europe in 1347 and caused one of the deadliest outbreaks in human history.
Over the next 400 years, epidemics broke out again and again, killing millions of people.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31588671

Edited February 24, 2015 by Maestro
Corrected link to BBC article

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post and the reply to it.

[Maestro]

Removed another off-topic post.

This forum isn't really meant for the discussion of ancient history.

Topic closed.