My friend Turi King is perhaps best known for the DNA analysis identifying Richard III's remains when they were found in that Leicester car park. She also hosts the BBC TV series DNA Family Secrets, with Stacy Dooley.

Her recent book, "The Secrets of our DNA", is a very readable way to learn about the history of DNA analysis, what can and can't be done at a crime scene, how many children Thomas Jefferson actually had, and the role DNA analysis played in the recent lives of O.J. Simpson and Angelina Jolie, to name just a few. I say it's readable, though I'm actually listening to the audiobook (which Turi narrates very nicely) on my daily dog-walk.

So I know a lot more about DNA then I did a few weeks ago, but I was still pleasantly surprised by an article John Naughton linked to recently. It explains how you can learn about historical livestock diseases from medieval documents... but perhaps not in the way you'd expect!