Plague, Coronavirus, and Beyond: Teeth as a Window to Epidemic History

Imagine peering into the past to uncover the diseases that once plagued humanity. This is the promise of paleoproteomics, a fascinating science that studies ancient proteins to reveal the microbes that shaped our history. Led by experts like Didier Raoult, researchers are using dental pulp—tough tissue inside teeth packed with blood and immune clues—to dig up evidence of long-ago infections. Two standout studies show how it works: one found the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in 18th-century victims, and another spotted signs of an old coronavirus in people from the 16th century. These discoveries prove that paleoproteomics can go beyond the limits of DNA research, giving us a clearer picture of the germs that haunted our ancestors.