Why would scientists re-create the black plague?

In a mash-up of Jurassic Park and CSI: London, scientists crack the genetic code of the deadly bubonic plague that ravaged 14th century Europe

A painting depicting priests standing before a bubonic plague victim: Scientists have successfully recreated the deadly bug to help understand modern illnesses.
(Image credit: CORBIS)

A team of German, Canadian, and U.S. scientists have reconstructed the genetic sequence of one of history's worst plagues. The Black Death swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351, killing 30 million to 50 million people — up to half of Europe's population at the time. The plague "was literally like the four horseman of the apocalypse that rained on Europe," says Johannes Krause of Germany's University of Tubingen, lead author of the study published in Nature. "People literally thought it was the end of the world." Why try to bring it back to life? Here's what you should know:

How did scientists re-create the bacterium's DNA?

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