--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Krause and his team unearthed the…" description: "\"“Krause and his team unearthed the evolution of Yersinia pestis, and the genomic tracks of its terrible journey. An earlier study had shown that, just ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/adam-rutherford-12971_quote_krause-and-his-team-unearthed-the-evolut_1378586.jpg" --- # Krause and his team unearthed the evolution of Yersinia… ![“Krause and his team unearthed the evolution of Yersinia pestis, and the genomic tracks of its terrible journey. An earlier study had shown that, just like the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death in the 1340s had also originated in China. With a publicly available database of the full sequence…” quote by Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/adam-rutherford-12971_quote_krause-and-his-team-unearthed-the-evolut_1378586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/adam-rutherford-12971_quote_krause-and-his-team-unearthed-the-evolut_1378586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/adam-rutherford-12971_quote_krause-and-his-team-unearthed-the-evolut_1378586.jpg) > ““Krause and his team unearthed the evolution of Yersinia pestis, and the genomic tracks of its terrible journey. An earlier study had shown that, just like the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death in the 1340s had also originated in China. With a publicly available database of the full sequence, the history and the genetics can be aligned. Over a five-year period we can track a course from Russia to Constantinople, to Messina, to Genoa, Marseille, Bordeaux, and finally London. All these ports acted as points from which radiation of the plague could crawl inland. En route, it claimed the lives of some 5 million people.”” [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The plague spread from China across Europe via ports, killing millions; modern genomics trace its path. **In simple terms:** The Black Death traveled through trade routes, causing massive loss of life. Key Takeaway Study historical disease spread to improve modern pandemic responses. Themes history epidemiology genomics trade pandemic Mood analytical reflective Type educational historical When to use this quote - museum exhibits - academic research - public health policy Key Concepts evolutionary biology public health historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - How did trade shape disease patterns? - What lessons apply to today’s outbreaks? A Different Perspective Genomic data may miss undocumented local transmissions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-death/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) ## Related quotes > [Both of us victims of the same twentieth-century plague. Not the Black Death, this time; the Gray Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/both-of-us-victims-of-the-same-twentieth-century-plague-not-the-black/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The Egyptians had the locusts and in the Middle Ages there was the Black Death with the rats, but tourists are the plague of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-conniff/the-egyptians-had-the-locusts-and-in-the-middle-ages-there-was-the/) [Richard Conniff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-conniff/) > [“In October 1347, several trading ships from Genoa, Italy, pulled into the harbor at Messina in Sicily. Everyone aboard those ships was dead or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-october-1347-several-trading-ships-from-genoa-italy-pulled-into/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [Ring around the rosie. A pocket full of posie. Ashes ashes, we all fall down. Some people say that this poem is about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/ring-around-the-rosie-a-pocket-full-of-posie-ashes-ashes-we-all-fall/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“Nineteen teeth from twelve sixth-century plague pits in Aschheim near Munich provided the source of the Code of Justinian. In among the ancient human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/nineteen-teeth-from-twelve-sixth-century-plague-pits-in-aschheim-near/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [ “\[According to 1348 theorists, poisoning of Christian water by Jews was the cause of Black Death.\] Even the poison used to contaminate the Christian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kelly/according-to-1348-theorists-poisoning-of-christian-water-by-jews-was/) John Kelly > [We are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/we-are-all-bound-thither-we-are-hastening-to-the-same-common-goal/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“It was the greatest tidal wave of death since the Black Death, perhaps in the whole of human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-spinney/it-was-the-greatest-tidal-wave-of-death-since-the-black-death-perhaps/) [Laura Spinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-spinney/) > [If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-a-black-death-could-be-spread-throughout-the-world-once-in-every/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I bet it was pretty hard to pick up girls if you had the Black Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-it-was-pretty-hard-to-pick-up-girls-if-you-had-the-black-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Oh, such a shame, such a shame. Oh, such a shame. What’s it all about anyhow?” “I’ve wondered for a long time.” “But why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/oh-such-a-shame-such-a-shame-oh-such-a-shame-what-s-it-all-about/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/after-the-black-death-in-the-mid-1300s-the-persecution-of-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“Even more than black death he dreaded the gaudy gate: the mask of sweet red rubber, the violet overhead lights, the rattling ride through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-begley/even-more-than-black-death-he-dreaded-the-gaudy-gate-the-mask-of/) [Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-begley/) > [When I say forever,' Koschei whispered, 'I mean until the black death of the world. An Ivan means just the present moment, the flickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-say-forever-koschei-whispered-i-mean-until-the-black-death-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More by Adam Rutherford > [“We are all Rumsfeldian, if we are doing science right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/we-are-all-rumsfeldian-if-we-are-doing-science-right/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“The unglamorous truth is that there are but a handful of uniquely human traits that we have clearly demonstrated are adaptations evolved to thrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/the-unglamorous-truth-is-that-there-are-but-a-handful-of-uniquely/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Except if you’re of European descent. Your lactase continues to work throughout your life. This unusual phenomenon is called lactase persistence, and although a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/except-if-you-re-of-european-descent-your-lactase-continues-to-work/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“One fifth of people alive a millennium ago in Europe are the ancestors of no one alive today. Their lines of descent petered out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/one-fifth-of-people-alive-a-millennium-ago-in-europe-are-the/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Nineteen teeth from twelve sixth-century plague pits in Aschheim near Munich provided the source of the Code of Justinian. In among the ancient human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/nineteen-teeth-from-twelve-sixth-century-plague-pits-in-aschheim-near/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“There are dozens of documented cases of Roma or Irish Travelers being falsely accused of stealing children over the twentieth century, and back through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/there-are-dozens-of-documented-cases-of-roma-or-irish-travelers-being/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“There’s a cave in this hinterland of Siberia, called Denisova, named after an eighteenth-century eremite called Denis who lived there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/there-s-a-cave-in-this-hinterland-of-siberia-called-denisova-named/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“brain activity in a heartbeat. All of that says Richard. But the DNA in consort with the paper trail of a genealogy available only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/brain-activity-in-a-heartbeat-all-of-that-says-richard-but-the-dna-in/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge . . . says Darwin in The Descent of Man, his study of the evolution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/ignorance-more-frequently-begets-confidence-than-does-knowledge-says/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“crunching. The amount of introgression from Neanderthals is proportionally lower on the modern X than on the rest of the chromosomes. X chromosomes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/crunching-the-amount-of-introgression-from-neanderthals-is/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Mind you, Darwin fretted about a lot of stuff, especially his health, his kids, and maybe with just cause. On occasion he would write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/mind-you-darwin-fretted-about-a-lot-of-stuff-especially-his-health/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Pedigree is a word derived from the middle French phrase pied de grue—the crane’s foot—as the digits and hallux spread from a single joint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/pedigree-is-a-word-derived-from-the-middle-french-phrase-pied-de-grue/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“The oldest genome of a European comes from a 37,000-year-old square-jawed man who washed up on the banks of the mighty River Don in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/the-oldest-genome-of-a-european-comes-from-a-37-000-year-old-square/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“By 5500 BCE, we were making cheese. Sieves and pottery colanders resembling modern cheese strainers had been found in Poland, and in 2012, again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/by-5500-bce-we-were-making-cheese-sieves-and-pottery-colanders/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“Amylase digests starchy, carbohydrate-rich foods, and helps generate glucose from them, which would provide much needed energy for the evolving and highly energetic brain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/amylase-digests-starchy-carbohydrate-rich-foods-and-helps-generate/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) [Explore all 52 Adam Rutherford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) ## More Black death quotes > [When I say forever,' Koschei whispered, 'I mean until the black death of the world. An Ivan means just the present moment, the flickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-say-forever-koschei-whispered-i-mean-until-the-black-death-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [ “\[According to 1348 theorists, poisoning of Christian water by Jews was the cause of Black Death.\] Even the poison used to contaminate the Christian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kelly/according-to-1348-theorists-poisoning-of-christian-water-by-jews-was/) John Kelly > [We are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/we-are-all-bound-thither-we-are-hastening-to-the-same-common-goal/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/after-the-black-death-in-the-mid-1300s-the-persecution-of-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“Even more than black death he dreaded the gaudy gate: the mask of sweet red rubber, the violet overhead lights, the rattling ride through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-begley/even-more-than-black-death-he-dreaded-the-gaudy-gate-the-mask-of/) [Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-begley/) > [Ring around the rosie. A pocket full of posie. Ashes ashes, we all fall down. Some people say that this poem is about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/ring-around-the-rosie-a-pocket-full-of-posie-ashes-ashes-we-all-fall/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“Oh, such a shame, such a shame. Oh, such a shame. What’s it all about anyhow?” “I’ve wondered for a long time.” “But why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/oh-such-a-shame-such-a-shame-oh-such-a-shame-what-s-it-all-about/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I bet it was pretty hard to pick up girls if you had the Black Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-it-was-pretty-hard-to-pick-up-girls-if-you-had-the-black-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-a-black-death-could-be-spread-throughout-the-world-once-in-every/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“It was the greatest tidal wave of death since the Black Death, perhaps in the whole of human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-spinney/it-was-the-greatest-tidal-wave-of-death-since-the-black-death-perhaps/) [Laura Spinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-spinney/) > [“Accounts from Europe indicate that the danse macabre took another form, inspired by the Black Death, rather like our children's rhyme 'Ring o' Ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/accounts-from-europe-indicate-that-the-danse-macabre-took-another/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [“In October 1347, several trading ships from Genoa, Italy, pulled into the harbor at Messina in Sicily. Everyone aboard those ships was dead or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-october-1347-several-trading-ships-from-genoa-italy-pulled-into/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [I have made my bed In charnels and on coffins, where black death Keeps record of the trophies won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-have-made-my-bed-in-charnels-and-on-coffins-where-black-death-keeps/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Even though we know the origin of diseases, panic sweeps. It's one thing that frightens us, because it's your health and your body -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-nixon/even-though-we-know-the-origin-of-diseases-panic-sweeps-it-s-one/) [Kimberley Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberley-nixon/) [Browse all 53 Black death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Krause and his team unearthed the evolution of Yersinia pestis, and the genomic tracks of its terrible journey. An earlier study had shown that, just like the Plague of Justinian, the Black Death in the 1340s had also originated in China. With a publicly available database of the full sequence, the history and the genetics can be aligned. Over a five-year period we can track a course from Russia to Constantinople, to Messina, to Genoa, Marseille, Bordeaux, and finally London. 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