I THOUGHT THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: Rats may not have been responsible for the Black Death plague. “Te new research, based on European death statistics for nine plague outbreaks spanning five centuries, suggests the much-maligned rat may not be to blame. Instead, ‘human ectoparasites’ — meaning fleas residing on people, not rats — may have been the primary sources for spreading the illness, including the devastating Black Death of 1346 to 1353.”

Rats and rat fleas: “Where do we go to get our reputation back?”