A team of German, Canadian and American scientists have mapped the entire genome of the deadly Black Death plague from the 14th century. The Yersinia pestis bacterium responsible for the plague is still virulent, and scientists will compare genomes of present-day and ancient microbes in an effort to determine what made the disease so deadly then and how it has evolved. “With a better understanding of the evolution of this deadly pathogen, we are entering a new era of research into infectious disease,” said team member Hendrik Poinar of McMaster University. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (10/12), Reuters (10/12)  BioSmart Brief.