What science discovery would you explain to a famous past scientist?

[PB666]

Just now, Green Baron said:

I'm interested, could you point me to something to read about that (not Wikipedia) ? Did it affect human population as well ?

Afaik origin, spread and cause of the plague (black death in 14th century) is at least principally understood, last i read was a study that compared historic DNA samples from different sites between Asia and Europe that showed and confirmed that indeed Y.p. was responsible. America wasn't part of the known world by then (sorry, guys :-)).

This is one for  huantanvirus https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24287104.(The plague has been a problem in the SW since at least the Pueblo revolt, IIRC, although it may not have been correctly identified). At least the early papers blamed this on human travelers (Asian disease, Asian travelers). < 2000 years ago, at least for the Asian strain. 

I hope this helps your understanding of our guys' peoples. I can provide more the the same if you like.

Quote

Gourds were cultivated in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus' discovery of America. Historically, in Europe,^[9]Walahfrid Strabo (808–849), abbot and poet from Reichenau and advisor to the Carolingian kings, discussed the gourd in his Hortulus as one of the 23 plants of an ideal garden.^[10][11]

Recent research indicates some gourds have an African origin and that there were at least two unrelated domestications: one is thought to have occurred 8,000-9,000 years ago, based on the analysis of archeological samples found in Asia, and the second domestication is believed to have occurred 4,000 years ago, and has been traced from archeological discoveries in Egypt.

The mystery of the bottle gourd – namely that this African or Eurasian species was being grown in America over 8,000 years ago^[12] – came about from the difficulty in understanding how it came to be in the Americas. The bottle gourd was originally thought to have drifted across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to North and South America, but genetic research on archeological samples published by the National Academy of Sciences in December 2005 suggested that it may have been domesticated earlier than food crops and livestock and, like dogs, was brought into the New World at the end of the ice age to the native Paleo-Indians. This study showed that gourds found in American archaeological finds appeared closer to Asian variants than to African ones.^[5]    -wikipedi    bottle gourd.

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[Just Jim]

Oh, I have a late entry... more writer than scientist, though I suspect he was a bit of both.

Wouldn't it be interesting to let Jules Verne know how close he came with the Nautilus?

[kerbiloid]

Almost like letting Jules Verne know that electric batteries don't have infinite capacity like in Five Weeks In A Balloon.
They have crossed whole Africa with one car battery using it for almost everything including the water electrolysis, and never recharged it.

(Has Musk already founded an electric balloons company? He should.)

Edited January 22, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Shpaget]

59 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

 

(Has Musk already founded an electric balloons company? He should.)

Hot Air Inc.?

[kerbiloid]

19 minutes ago, Shpaget said:

Hot Air Inc.?

Ooops ... I thought I was joking.