GoKawiilAncient sheeppox DNA recovered from medieval parchment manuscripts
Researchers extracted and sequenced viral DNA preserved in the animal-skin parchment of medieval manuscripts, tracing sheeppox virus's evolutionary history back roughly 3,500 years. The study, published in Science Advances and led by University College Dublin's Louis L'Hôte, demonstrates that parchment can act as a repository for ancient pathogen genomes, not just host DNA.