Scientists decode Black Death's genome

 　　BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists have decoded¹ the genome of Black Death which caused one of the worst plagues in human history.

　　The finding was published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature.

　　A team of German, Canadian and American scientists collected the bacteria's DNA² from ancient plague victims' teeth and bones, which were excavated³ from the burial ground in London.

　　With a careful NDA comparison between the ancient bacteria and the modern strains, scientists found the direct variant⁴ of the medieval bacteria still exist today.

　　Black Death's descendants kill around 2,000 people a year, mostly in the developing world, the scientist said.

　　"This will provide us with direct insights into the evolution of human pathogens and historical pandemics," said Johannes Krause Of Germany's University of Tubingen, who worked on the study.

　　Black Death, the fatal plague of medieval Europe, wiped out some 30 million people -- about 50 percent of the population on the continent, within just five years, between 1347 and 1351.

1 decoded   

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句

2 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

3 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。