Transcript
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Introduces Yersinia pestis and explains how this microscopic bacterium spread through fleas and rats. It shows how easily a single bite could transmit the disease.
This is the deadliest thing ever photographed.Yersinia pestis, a bacterium so small you need a microscope to see it.It rode across continents inside fleas on the backs of rats in the holds of trading ships.A single flea bite was enough to pass it on.
Describes the arrival of the plague in Europe in 1347 and the catastrophic death toll it caused. It also notes how scientists later confirmed the pathogen through DNA evidence from medieval graves.
In 1347, it reached Europe.Within 3 years, it had killed a third of everyone on the continent.Scientists found its DNA in medieval graves and proved this tiny killer did it all.
Ends by emphasizing just how small and deadly the photographed organism was.
The deadliest thing ever photographed, smaller than a speck of dust.