Was the violent, vengeful, sensual empress also extraordinarily capable? Plus, glow-in-the-dark mushrooms; saving frogs from European restaurants; remembering L.A.’s celebrity mountain lion
 | JEAN-MANUEL SALINGUE/RMN-GRAND PALAIS
| | Don’t mess with Messalina.
Roman writers missed—or minimized—the extraordinary skills of the commanding wife of Emperor Claudius. They portrayed Messalina, a teenage bride to the 47-year-old emperor, as scandalous and sex-addicted. Ruthless? OMG, yes. Vengeful? For sure. But her real scandal appeared to be overstepping the boundaries of an empress—and adroitly engaging in Rome’s cruel politics.
Just like the boys.
Read her full story here.
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 | | DAGLI ORTI/AURIMAGES | | Even in stone: Artworks also have emphasized Messlina’s sensuality rather than her smarts, as shown in this 1884 sculpture (at top) by Eugene Brunet. Above, Messalina is portrayed in her final hour with a dagger in Victor François Eloi Biennoury’s 1850 painting. Read more.
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 | | SCIENCE SOURCE | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY ARCHIVIO GBB, REDUX | | AI and the Turing test: Alan Turing (pictured) was a legendary mathematician, codebreaker, and computer scientist born in the 1910s — and a pioneer in thinking about AI. Turing created techniques to interpret Hitler's encoded messages. He questioned whether a mind could live on without a body. Now, for the first time since he created it, new technology today may be able to pass the Turing test.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE WINTER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION | | Remembering P-22: The beloved wild mountain lion of Los Angeles, shown above in this classic photo by Nat Geo Explorer Steve Winter, is being remembered in a popular new L.A. Public Library card featuring Winter’s image. The bachelor mountain lion, who roamed L.A.’s hills for more than a decade, inspired wildlife preservation efforts. Thousands of Angelenos attended an outdoor service remembering P-22 after his death in December.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY VIDHYAA CHANDRAMOHAN | | Typically a male tradition in the public eye, women in Abu Dhabi have practiced falconry for centuries—and they're now gaining recognition and traction. As the female role model for the sport, Ayesha Al Mansouri (pictured with her daughter Osha, 8) has trained nearly 150 women and 70 girls in falconry, Nat Geo reports.
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Today’s soundtrack: Bird Song, Florence + the Machine
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