Medici family mystery may be solved after more than 400 years

New DNA analysis detected malaria parasites in Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici’s remains (and in a brother’s), supporting malaria — not murder — as the likely cause of his sudden death.
Centuries of gossip blamed poisoning by his rival brother Ferdinando amid succession intrigue; some past toxicology studies and scholars still say arsenic can’t be fully ruled out.
The couple fell ill after stays near marshy, mosquito-prone areas outside Florence, and the study shows how ancient DNA can help settle historic medical mysteries.