DNA from a mummified bishop’s lungs shows TB infected humans only recently

Bishop Peder Winstrup died in what is now Sweden in 1679 CE, when tuberculosis (TB) was ravaging Europe. His body was placed in a cool, dry crypt, and lay untouched for nearly 250 years. When the crypt was first opened in 1923, scientists were surprised to discover that Bishop Winstrup had become mummified, with his clothes and hair perfectly intact. Now, researchers have used his well-preserved lungs, damaged by TB, to understand when this deadly disease began infecting humans.