‘This Is Very Strange’: Ancient Smallpox May Have Been Less Deadly

For the first time, they have found ancient smallpox genomes from the Americas, hiding in skeletons in Chile that date back about 500 years. In 2016, Dr. Poinar and his colleagues offered up far more compelling proof of ancient smallpox: its DNA. All known smallpox viruses appear to share a common viral ancestor that existed about 1500 years ago. As the smallpox virus found new people to infect, its descendants split into distinct branches of the family tree. The post ‘This Is Very Strange’: Ancient Smallpox May Have Been Less Deadly appeared first on New York Times.