Event Brief
Sep 5, 2026 at 3:00 AM ET
Ancient DNA of sheep pox found in medieval parchment
By The BriefBrief
Researchers extracted DNA traces of sheep pox virus from parchment used in medieval manuscripts, including the 1,000-year-old York Gospels and earlier texts such as the Corpus Glossary. The findings suggest parchment can preserve animal pathogen DNA and help track how infectious diseases evolved.
WHO: An international team of geneticists, historians, virologists, protein chemists and conservators led by University College Dublin scientists
WHAT: Ancient DNA traces of sheep pox virus were extracted from parchment pages of medieval manuscripts.
WHEN: Reported Sep 5, 2026 at 2:36 AM ET
WHERE: Europe
WHY: To understand how pathogens evolved and how they affected past societies, using parchment as a source that can preserve animal pathogen DNA.
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