Ancient-DNA analysis solves 500-year-old mystery of what killed 2 Medici brothers ^24.8%

Live Science - By Kristina Killgrove - 7/1/2026, 8:50 PM

Appeal to Authority 32.3% - Biased Writer Voice 22.3% - Optimism Bias 20.4%

Two brothers from the wealthy and powerful Medici family died of malaria and were not poisoned as a rumor had suggested, archaeologists have confirmed based on a DNA analysis of the brothers' skeletons. The analysis also revealed a unique, mutated strain of malaria that may hold the key to understanding the evolution of the disease in... more