New scientific research has concluded that members of the Medici family, which is popularly cited as having funded much of the Italian renaissance, did not kill each other in a bloody slaughter, as had been rumored for centuries. In fact, researchers now say that the allegations that four members of the Medici clan ran each other through with swords and daggers are nothing more than fantasy stories spread by jealous rivals. “Malaria is the most likely cause of death for all four members of the family.”