How the Black Plague Shaped Our DNA

The Black Plague didn't just kill millions. It actually changed human DNA forever.

When the disease swept through Europe in the 1300s, it wiped out nearly half the population.

But here's what's wild. Scientists discovered that survivors passed down genetic mutations

to their descendants. These mutations made their immune systems stronger against similar

diseases. Your ancestors who survived literally evolved to protect you.

The genes that helped them fight off the plague are still in your body today. That's why some

people have naturally stronger immune responses to certain infections. Evolution happened

in real time, and we're still living with those changes seven hundred years later.