Nov. 5, 2009


Antarctica's icy lakes are home to a surprisingly diverse community of viruses, including some that were previously unidentified.

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They found nearly 10,000 species, including some small DNA viruses that had never before been identified. In total, the viruses were from 12 different families, some of which may be completely new to science, the researchers suggest.

Another contributing factor in the outbreak of plague was the weather. The weather in Europe began to change in the 1200's.
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However, as the climate gradually cooled, it became impossible to grow grapes in England. Also, the weather grew wetter and the combination of cold and wet made growing wheat and many other grains much more difficult (which, coupled with overpopulation created the reoccurring famines).

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The weather seems to have also played a role in the transmission of the plague. 1348 and 1349 had warmer and drier summers than most anyone alive at the time could remember; it was almost like the weather that had been enjoyed prior to the global cooling.

there were a series of murrains-plagues-among sheep and cattle. It is not known what sort of disease or diseases these were, but they were commonly occurring for a decade or more before the outbreak of the plague and so decimated livestock populations