New genomic research has confirmed that syphilis, a disease that ravaged Europe shortly after the return of Christopher ...

Paleogenomics has finally solved a question that has puzzled researchers for decades: Where did syphilis come from?

The implications of this research are manifold. The study paints a grim picture of colonialism’s unintended consequences.

Syphilis first erupted in Europe in 1494 in a French army camp, a year after Columbus returned from a voyage to America. The ...