M.J. Rose

The Shroud of Turin is one of the most fascinating objects on earth, and it received quite a bit of attention recently after Italian scientists suggested its authenticity…

Shroud Of Turin, Jesus’ Proposed Burial Cloth, Is Authentic, Italian Study Suggests

(HuffPost)

“A series of experiments conducted by Italian researchers indicate the Shroud of Turin is likely authentic, but the team has not yet reached a definite conclusion.

Decades of research on Jesus’ proposed burial cloth have revealed an array of conflicting ideas surrounding the shroud’s authenticity. However, researchers from Italy’s National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development believe their findings undermine previous theories that the shroud was faked in the medieval period, the Telegraph reports. The new claim seems to be stirring controversy again, as many point to previous research to the contrary.

Last year scientists were able to replicate marks on the cloth using highly advanced ultraviolet techniques that weren’t available 2,000 years ago — or during the medieval times, for that matter.

Research in the 1980s suggests the image was “forged” on the cloth between 1260 and 1390, but scientists have determined the hypothesis was based on testing material from a patch likely used to to repair the cloth after a fire, the BBC reports.

Since the shroud and “all its facets” still cannot be replicated using today’s top-notch technology, researchers suggest it is impossible that the original image could have been created in either period….”

For the compete piece, and a video, click here.

Any reader of M.J.’s books is going to appreciate a real life art caper!

The Mysterious Tale Of The Stolen (And Possibly Returned) Renaissance Madonna By Lucas Cranach The Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder, called “one of the strangest Renaissance artists in Germany” is back in the headlines after a few centuries at rest. His painting, “Madonna Under The Fir Tree,” has hung in a Polish cathedral for over 400 years. At least 60 of those years, however, the work was stolen and replaced with a fake. This summer the original was mysteriously returned, after negotiations between authorities and the church. Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Art Newspaper: “The story of how the ‘Madonna under the Fire Tree’ was recovered reads like a crime novel.” However, historians and fans are now wondering if their beloved Madonna actually returned or if they are simply looking at a better forgery…

For the rest of the story click here.

Here is a nature “mystery” for you – a simultaneously disturbing and cute creature. How is that even possible? The sheer weirdness of the Venezuelan poodle moth has caused images of it to go viral on the net…

(It looks like an alien to me! When I first saw a photo of it I was certain it was a puppet or a special effect for a space movie!)

Zoologist Arthur Anker’s picture of a Venezuela poodle moth has captured the curiosity of Internet onlookers.

By Alan Boyle

It’s been compared to a fluffy dog, a Pokemon character and a Power Rangers villain — but whatever it is, the Venezuelan poodle moth has captured the Internet like Mothra in a bad Japanese movie. Now it’s up to the experts to figure out exactly where this moth belongs on the tree of life.

The first thing to emphasize is that the poodle moth is no phony concoction like the jackalope, dogerpillar or chupacabra. Its cute, furry, scary look is totally in line with what’s expected for a neotropical ornamental moth…

For the complete article click here.