This week, researchers described an ambitious project to explore 1,000 years of the disease and the health of people buried since the year 1039 in a cemetery along with a wellness pilgrimage route known in Tuscany, Italy. By studying the skeletons of farmers, peasants, monks and nobles, paleopathologists hope to discover what diseases killed people from medieval times to the present day and how their general health has fluctuated during the famine, war, climate change and other challenges. They also use new tools, such as the ancient DNA to trace the origins and evolution of deadly pathogens that cause plague, tuberculosis, cholera and other diseases. Why is it important to study the health of our ancestors? What we learn from the study of ancient diseases? And what impact can study the evolution of pathogens have the treatment or prevention of modern epidemics?
Join us on Thursday, December 12, at 15 pm EST on this page for a live video chat. Our guests will be two experts on the study of ancient diseases with two different methods, using ancient DNA, or the study of fossil bones. Make sure you let your requests for them in the comment box below.
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