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There's Actually No Bubonic Plague in New York's Subway

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Christopher Mason, the Weill Cornell Medical College geneticist whose study of the New York City subway system from earlier this year found traces of the types of bacteria that cause the bubonic plague and anthrax, has admitted that, upon further analysis, he and his team were unable to find any bubonic plague or anthrax. "There is no strong evidence to suggest these organisms are in fact present, and no evidence of pathogenicity," a new report says, although Mason is refusing to call it a retraction, saying that the bubonic plague thing "was explicitly a problem of interpretation."

· Scientists Back Off Some Findings in NYC Subway Microbiome Study [WSJ]
· There's Bubonic Plague on the Subway But It's No Big Deal [Curbed]