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A display of corpses was a highlight for flâneurs passing the Paris Morgue in the 1860s. Captured by the “culture of looking”‚ the word “flânerie” was invented to describe aimless wandering as a way of taking in the city‚ and in the 19th century‚ that included ogling the dead.The Paris Morgue had a salle d'exposition where its deceased residents would go on display so that the unnamed and unclaimed could be identified. The advent of the Industrial Revolution meant that many were traveling to the city for novel and sometimes dangerous avenues of employment. Those who perished in mechanical or locomotive accidents were often far from home‚ and they too would join the cold bodies waiting for personhood behind the glass.It wasn’t long before the lost and found became a popular exhibit for the morbidly curious‚ even being listed as Le Musée de la Mort in British travel guides. Sitting behind the Notre-Dame Cathedral‚ the Paris morgue framed the corpses behind theatrically curtained windows‚ and depending on who was on display‚ it could draw in tens to hundreds of thousands of visitors‚ reports How Stuff Works.The clothes of the dead were hung above their slabs.Image credit: G.Garitan - Own work‚ CC BY-SA 4.0‚ via WikimediaIt might seem crass‚ but as Taryn Cain points out for the Wellcome Collection‚ we have our own Paris Morgue in the modern era‚ and it’s gone global. The controversial Body Worlds exhibition displays plastinated cadavers that have been visited over 40 million times and even made it into a Bond movie. We might not be as far from La Morgue as we might like to think we are.Back then‚ the corpses were fresh and dressed in nothing but strips of cloth to cover up key features‚ but their clothes were hung above them‚ providing a snapshot into the life of the deceased. As the French playwright Léon Gozlan said‚ “You go there to see the drowned as elsewhere you go to see the latest fashion.”While the Musée Grevin was capitalizing on the appeal of the macabre by creating a “living newspaper” that staged waxen recreations of recent murders‚ it seemed the Paris morgue had gone one step further to satisfy people’s curiosity by providing them the horror in the flesh‚ as it were. The press was hot on the gruesome details of recent deaths‚ and the morgue provided readers the opportunity to connect with the story further by seeing the victims up close.Despite its grim content‚ the exhibit hall got a reputation as a free theater.Image credit: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra via Flickr‚ CC BY 2.0One particularly popular exhibit included “woman cut into two pieces‚” who was retrieved in halves from the river Seine in 1876. Bodies eventually decomposed too much to remain on display‚ and after two weeks‚ she was replaced with a wax bust‚ drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors.According to JSTOR‚ the allure of la morgue may have had less to do with morbid curiosity and more to do with a sense of community‚ with visitors empathizing with the dead‚ rather than delighting in the horror of it all. As author of Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in Fin-de-Siecle Paris‚ Professor Vanessa Schwartz of the University of Southern California wrote that the morgue exhibition hall and the waxwork living newspapers may have been 19th-century Paris’s answer to true crime documentaries. But don’t get any ideas‚ Netflix.

Palaeontology and archaeology have aligned in northeast Brazil‚ as a “remarkable” site featuring dinosaur footprints alongside ancient rock carvings has been uncovered.  The Serrote do Letreiro Site‚ in the Sousa municipality‚ Paraíba State‚ is home to three main rock outcrops‚ where the fossilized footprints of theropod‚ sauropod‚ and iguanodontian dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (145 to 100.5 million years ago) have been discovered. Not only that‚ but the area is also home to petroglyphs – a type of rock art made by directly pecking at the rock’s surface – created by humans in the pre-colonial period.In a new study‚ researchers describe this “invaluable” intercept of palaeontological and archaeological elements‚ the likes of which have never been seen in such close proximity.Dinosaur tracks and rock art have been found in association before – in Australia‚ Poland‚ and Utah‚ for example – but “in none of these instances do the petroglyphs display such a close-knit relationship with the footprints as in Serrote do Letreiro‚” the researchers write in their study.“It is unquestionable that the engravers acknowledged the footprints and intentionally executed the petroglyphs around them‚ establishing a symbolic connection between human graphic expression and the fossil record.”Petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks at Outcrop 1. Theropod footprints are in white and engravings are in orange.Image credit: Troiano et al.‚ Scientific Reports‚ 2024 (CC BY 4.0)The first mentions of dinosaur footprints from the region date back to the early 20th century and palaeontological aspects of the site have been studied several times in the years since. The petroglyphs‚ however‚ have received much less attention‚ having never been comprehensively analyzed or considered in combination with the footprints.To rectify this‚ the team surveyed the site‚ identifying three large outcrops where both dinosaur footprints and petroglyphs were observed. At the first outcrop‚ an additional 22 symbols were discovered‚ along with the highest concentration of theropod – the clade to which T. rex belongs – tracks.Theropod footprints (A-F) in close association with petroglyphs (D and F).Image credit: Troiano et al.‚ Scientific Reports‚ 2024 (CC BY 4.0)The second contained just two petroglyphs‚ although there appears to have once been a much higher number that have since become illegible. At the third and final outcrop‚ 30 carvings were identified‚ as well as extensive pecking marks and tracks left largely by sauropod dinosaurs.The petroglyphs‚ the researchers discovered‚ are mostly circular featuring radial lines and other motifs. While their meaning is not obvious‚ they can be interpreted as geometric forms‚ and bear a striking resemblance to rock carvings found elsewhere in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. Some notable designs stand out‚ including rectangular grid engravings and others resembling stars and serpents.Petroglyphs from Outcrop 3.Image credit: Troiano et al.‚ Scientific Reports‚ 2024 (CC BY 4.0)The variation in style suggests multiple individuals were behind the rock art. We may not know who they were‚ but we do know that they took great care when carving alongside the dinosaur footprints.“In none of the cases was it found that the creation of a petroglyph resulted in damage to the existing footprints‚ suggesting thoughtfulness by the makers‚” the team explain. Serrote do Letreiro’s “outstanding juxtaposition” of palaeontology and archaeology‚ according to the researchers‚ indicates that humans in pre-colonial Brazil engaged with the fossil record‚ actively incorporating it into their graphical expression and using it help to establish their cultural identity.As such‚ the study authors argue for its conservation‚ demanding “immediate mitigation measures to prevent further damage”‚ so that we can continue to appreciate this unique site for years to come.The study is published in Scientific Reports.

From the good old-fashioned Flat Earth movement‚ to QAnon “truthers” and anti-vaccine zealots‚ you don’t have to look very far in our hyperconnected world to find someone spreading conspiracy theories. Often‚ a slide down the rabbit hole into the murky world of conspiracies comes as a shock to someone’s friends and family – how does a previously rational person get sucked into believing that dinosaurs aren’t real? Well‚ psychology might just have an answer.Seeing patternsUnderstanding what drives people into conspiracist thinking has inspired a number of scientific investigations. There’s one feature of the human brain that appears to bear quite a lot of the responsibility – the problem is‚ it’s also something we couldn’t manage without.The brain is primed to look for patterns. As humans have evolved‚ this has proven extremely useful. It’s handy‚ for example‚ to learn that the color red often equals “danger”. It's less handy to take the leap from‚ "Hmm‚ we appeared to have misplaced some ships‚" to‚ "It must be an eldritch triangle of ocean gobbling up vessels like there's no tomorrow!"    “Our brain is constantly trying to make sense of the outside world. One way the brain accomplishes this goal is by detecting and learning patterns‚ which are essentially statistical regularities in the environment‚ because these patterns help the brain decide how to react or behave in order to survive‚” Dr Jess Taubert‚ an associate professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland‚ previously told IFLScience. The issues start to arise when this pattern-recognizing power goes into overdrive‚ joining dots in random data and adding two and two to make five. This concept is called illusory perception.A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology explored this further. The scientists took groups of up to 401 people through five experiments designed to test the relationship between conspiracist thinking and illusory pattern perception.One thing that came out of the study was a link between belief in some common conspiracies – including ones around climate change‚ the moon landing‚ and the assassination of JFK –  and seeing a pattern in a series of random coin tosses. Those inclined towards a more conspiratorial way of thinking were also more likely to find patterns in chaotic artwork‚ like Jackson Pollock’s splatter paintings. The researchers also explored a common observation in conspiracy spaces‚ that belief in one irrational theory is often indicative of belief in other‚ unrelated theories. If you can accept the idea that Barack Obama is a lizard in a human suit‚ it’s really just a short hop and a skip to believing that the US government had advance notice of 9/11.“[A]cceptance of a conspiracy theory implies an increase in the extent to which people perceive patterns in world events‚ as reflected in the belief that instead of being a coincidence‚ many events that happen in the world are somehow causally related‚” the authors posited.To test this‚ they asked participants to read either a pro-conspiracy or anti-conspiracy article‚ before asking questions to assess their perception of a pattern in world events‚ finding that a correlation was present in those who’d been exposed to the conspiracy theory.To summarize the findings of the study‚ the authors wrote‚ “We conclude that illusory pattern perception is a central cognitive ingredient of beliefs in conspiracy theories and supernatural phenomena.”In the wake of conspiracy theories around the COVID-19 pandemic‚ this research became all the more timely‚ and subsequent studies have built on the ideas explored here.One from the height of the pandemic in 2020 supported the importance of illusory perception and also touched on the idea of confirmation bias.“[Conspiracy theory] believers may find it hard to believe that a virus could originate randomly from the natural world because it does not fit with their preconceived view that events have a reason and usually a human or government influence behind it‚” the authors explained.The role of personalityAnother key factor that has come to the fore in psychology studies of conspiracy beliefs is the role of personality.Narcissism – the belief in one’s own superiority over others – has been found to be among the best psychological indicators of a predisposition toward believing in conspiracies. A 2022 study outlined three features of narcissistic personalities that seem to underpin this: agentic extraversion (which covers traits like assertiveness‚ self-confidence‚ and reward-seeking); antagonism; and neuroticism. In a nutshell‚ narcissistic people will more readily believe that others are “out to get them”‚ meaning that conspiracies about sinister government plots or shady cabals controlling the media narrative fit right into their way of thinking.Narcissists are also driven by a need to feel unique and special‚ something that research has also identified as a predictor of conspiratorial thinking. Others may be drawn to conspiracies out of a desire to “watch the world burn” – basically‚ some people simply thrive on chaos. For as long as there have been vaccines‚ there have been antivax conspiracists.Image credit: GillianVann/Shutterstock.comStill‚ more research has suggested a link between increased anger and belief in conspiracies‚ though it was not possible to say whether anger was a cause or consequence of believing irrational things. And some people may be initially drawn to conspiracies because they find them fun. I mean‚ there’s no denying that there’s a certain amount of entertainment to be derived from discussing the most outlandish of beliefs about our world‚ whether or not you actually see truth in them. You did click on this article‚ after all…What we know‚ and what we still don’tA systematic review published in 2022 aimed to collect together what we know so far about conspiracy beliefs as they apply to COVID-19‚ with lessons that could be applicable more broadly.Narcissism came up again‚ along with the three other personality traits that‚ with it‚ collectively form the so-called Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism‚ psychopathy‚ and sadism). Another factor that was mentioned was poorer psychological wellbeing‚ such as feelings of anxiety‚ depression‚ or uncertainty – something we probably all remember well from the early months of 2020. What’s still tricky to pin down is which of the factors are causes and which are effects. Perhaps some people’s brains and personalities do make them more prone to belief in conspiracies‚ but it takes a particular set of external circumstances to tip them over the edge and into the rabbit hole.The authors of the review called for more research to address these open questions‚ with more varied samples. Above all‚ understanding the drivers that push people towards conspiracy theories – and remembering that these beliefs can have real-life consequences – is vital if we want to tackle future waves of disinformation head-on.

It is remarkable that the Sun and the Moon are roughly the same apparent size so that in most solar eclipses – but not all – the whole solar disk is blocked by the Moon. However‚ the lunar disk is not a perfect circle‚ as the moon is not a smooth sphere‚ and this creates a peculiar effect just minutes before totality.A series of bright spots will form just off the limb of the Moon. Due to mountains and craters on the Moon‚ the final slither of the Sun disk will appear fractured in a string of bright spots. DO NOT TRY TO OBSERVE THEM WITHOUT PROPER EYE OR CAMERA PROTECTION. We won’t even apologize for shouting. Eye safety is paramount during eclipses.The beads are still a portion of the surface of the Sun and they are as bright as the Sun is usually. This is why you shouldn’t look at them without protection. As totality approaches (when it is safe to take off protective glasses)‚ the beads will start disappearing until only one or two are left‚ producing the spectacular and well-known diamond effect.The diamond and then the beads will reappear just after the end of totality; be ready to see them on the other side of the Moon as our satellite moves away from the Sun in the sky. Since the geography and the motion of the Moon are well known‚ it is possible to work out exactly where the beads will appear.“This phenomenon has very precise parameters‚” explains NASA. “[T]he geometry of the observer-Moon-Sun coincidence‚ and its exact time on sub-second timing scales. The parameters differ systematically for observers located at different places and times within the path of totality.”So‚ NASA has developed an app that can focus on the beads at the right time‚ exactly where they will appear – and they are asking people across the path of totality to download it and let it do its thing. The project‚ called SunSketcher‚ will automatically take photos when it needs to and allow astronomers to better understand the Sun‚ using the light from the beads pre and post-totality.While the path of totality will stretch from the west coast of Mexico to Newfoundland in Canada‚ the app is set up only for the US. Still‚ tens of millions of people will be able to see it there. Just be safe! You can download the SunSketcher app for iPhone‚ with an Android version coming soon. 

Tiger-Lily‚ the incredibly rare two-headed western rat snake‚ is recovering well after undergoing critical surgery earlier this month which‚ surprisingly‚ had nothing to do with the snake’s many heads.Despite the western rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)‚ also known as a black rat snake‚ being a common‚ nonvenomous species across much of central North America‚ this pair is a rare 1-in-100‚000 case of polycephaly. Polycephaly is a form of conjoined twins where one body has two independent heads. In this snake’s case‚ each head was named Tiger and Lily by the family who found the pair in 2017.After celebrating their sixth birthday in October of last year‚ the 1.5-meter (5-foot) long twins were set to continue their statewide tour of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) sites on March 18‚ but‚ after sneezing up traces of blood during a feeding‚ the tour was put on hold a week before their intended departure.“This immediately raised a red flag with our staff‚ and we quickly got her an appointment with the Animal Health Team at the Saint Louis Zoo‚” MDC Naturalist Lauren Baker said in a statement.Upon investigating Tiger-Lily’s condition‚ the Saint Louis Zoo’s veterinary team found that the twins' ovaries were in pre-ovulation stasis.Dr Michael Warshaw‚ Staff Veterinarian at the Saint Louis Zoo‚ explained‚ “Under normal circumstances‚ the ovary would grow follicles‚ then ovulate them as eggs to eventually be laid. In Tiger-Lily’s case‚ she began the reproductive cycle‚ but the follicles did not ovulate and instead continued to grow and remain static in her ovary.  Over time this led to inflammation and the risk of infection.”The procedure to remove the twins' ovaries was successfully carried out on March 11 at the Saint Louis Endangered Species Research Center and Veterinary Hospital‚ and they are currently recovering well. “The Saint Louis Zoo and MDC have a long history of partnering together for the care of Missouri’s native wildlife and we are happy to have played a part in caring for this exceptional animal‚” Dr Chris Hanley‚ Director of Animal Health at the Saint Louis Zoo‚ said.The snakes’ home at Shepherd on the Hills Conservation Center is closed for construction‚ but after the twins' recovery period is over‚ which could take around a month‚ they will continue on their statewide tour until they can return to their swanky new digs.Despite being a rare condition‚ there are a handful of snakes with polycephaly currently living in captivity‚ however‚ survival rates are low for these animals in the wild. Polycephalous snakes are particularly vulnerable to predation as they struggle to escape and hide in small holes. Additionally‚ the physical act of eating is compromised when both heads are fighting to eat the same bit of prey. While much of polysepalous animals’ eating abilities are determined by their unique anatomy‚ with some two-headed snakes able to eat a meal at the same time‚ in Tiger-Lily’s case‚ they only have one esophagus between them.“We have to keep the heads separate when they are eating‚” MDC Interpretive Center Manager Alison Bleich said in a statement. “Since they share the same throat‚ it wouldn’t be good for them to both eat a mouse at once or to try to swallow the same mouse.”To feed these twins‚ a small cup is placed over the head of one to prevent it from taking the other’s food‚ then the cups are switched so both twins have a chance to eat. Both meals travel down the same esophagus and into the same stomach.If you want to catch a glimpse of this rare celeb‚ Tiger-Lily’s tour will continue in the coming months with a trip to MDC’s Anita B. Gormon Discovery Center in Kansas City.

What color is your blood? If you said red‚ you are correct – most of the time. Under certain circumstances‚ such as underneath the ocean‚ it can appear to be green. The reason behind this is the same reason why fish deep down in the Twilight Zone of the oceans have evolved red coloring. First things first‚ here's a look at the green color we're talking about‚ courtesy of a scuba diver who got bit by a Moray eel at around 20 meters (65 feet) under the ocean.          The reason this happens is fairly simple. If you remember from school science‚ any object we see is because light has reflected off it and into our eyes. Red objects appear red because they absorb other spectrums of light‚ reflecting the red light.That's how it's taught when you are younger. But reality is a little messier‚ with objects generally reflecting a range of wavelengths of light. Blood absorbs most colors‚ and reflects back light mainly in the red spectrum. However‚ it also reflects a much smaller amount of green and blue light.Water‚ meanwhile‚ appears to be slightly blue due to absorbing a lot of light in red wavelengths. If you go deep enough‚ enough red light is absorbed that only the green light is reflected back at your eyes (or recording equipment) so you perceive it as a green-blue color.       Because red light gets absorbed so well by water‚ a lot of fish living at depths are red."At depth‚ these animals are not visible‚" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explains. "The black animals absorb all colors of light available and the red animals appear black as well since there is no red light to reflect and their bodies absorb all other available wavelengths of light. Thus‚ in the deep ocean‚ red and black animals predominate."

In Australia and snake-infested parts of Indonesia‚ it pays to be resistant to snake venoms even‚ or perhaps especially‚ if you’re part of the same zoologic order as snakes. A study of how large and medium-sized lizards handle the problem of their cousins’ toxins has revealed a never-seen-before evolutionary sequence its discoverers compare to Russian dolls.Some large lizards like to feed on snakes‚ which makes sense because the squamates often live in similar territory‚ but it comes with its own dangers. Many years ago‚ Professor Bryan Fry of the University of Queensland discovered that venom is much more common in lizards than previously recognized‚ but few produce anything nearly as potent as their legless counterparts.Such a diet comes with risks‚ however‚ since the snakes don’t take kindly to being eaten. Smaller lizards can in turn be prey to snakes‚ who use the venom to subdue their dinners. In both cases‚ having some resistance to the venom can be the difference between life and death. Fry and PhD student Uthpala Chandrasekara set out to explore how the lizards deal with the poison‚ studying 27 varanid lizard species (25 of them Australian)‚ and discovered a much more complex story than they imagined.For one thing‚ lizards have evolved two quite different methods of venom resistance. Komodo dragons and the perentie rely on armor a medieval knight might envy. “Their thick‚ bone-filled scales are enough to protect them against snakebite‚ while their large teeth are used to quickly dismember the fettuccini-like snakes‚” Fry said in a statement sent to IFLScience. Bryan Fry admiring the snake-repelling scales of a Komodo dragon‚ the future of humanity.Image credit: Bryan FrySmaller lizards can’t carry that much weight‚ so they instead developed biochemical defenses. Using synthetic nerves that Fry helped invent that allow scientists to study nerve behavior without needing to use live animals‚ the team discovered some lizards have evolved nerves that are less susceptible to the local snakes’ neurotoxins.“Every biological application comes with a tax‚” Fry told IFLScience. In the case of neurotoxin resistance‚ this is slower nerve response times – a problem for primates and lizards alike. Consequently‚ while the big lizards stay armored‚ when their smaller counterparts find themselves in places without a lot of snakes‚ they quickly lose their resistance. This can either result from moving outside the snakes’ range‚ or taking to the trees‚ where some lizards have found safety.Every time the lizards find themselves too close to snakes for comfort‚ they re-evolve resistance. However‚ Fry told IFLScience‚ each time this happens‚ it is with a slightly different mutation. Consequently‚ zoologists can track the lizards’ history by observing all the genetic changes that have seen them evolve and lose resistance genes over and over again.“This complex dance of adaptation has resulted in a Russian doll-like nesting of gains and losses over time and suggests that the evolutionary battle doesn’t always head in one direction‚” Chandrasekara said.Naturally‚ the snakes do not take the resistance… ok they’re definitely lying down‚ but that doesn’t mean they just accept it. Instead‚ they are constantly evolving new venoms that get around the lizards’ resistance‚ creating a biological arms race that only stops when the two don’t overlap much.Although Fry recently made headlines leading the celebrity-assisted discovery of the world’s largest snake‚ venom is his primary specialization. Most of his discoveries come accompanied with suggestions the work could lead to better antivenoms or have potential for medications‚ in the footsteps of captopril derived from Brazilian viper venom. In this case‚ however‚ he told IFLScience there is “zero practical use”. That said‚ he can see the appeal of genetically modifying humans to have snake-repelling scales‚ acknowledging an affiliation with the mad scientist in a Spiderman cartoon who says he doesn’t want to cure cancer‚ he “want[s] to turn people into dinosaurs.”The study is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.