The prehistoric caves at Lascaux have pictures painted 17,000 years ago. “Because the cave had been naturally sealed for millennia, the paintings were freshly preserved in vivid yellows, reds, and blacks. But in its April issue, the respected French science magazine La Recherche sounded an alarm, announcing that thanks to bureaucratic incompetence a good part of Lascaux may be permanently destroyed. In a story headlined ‘Lascaux, the big mess,’ it reported that the site has been suffering devastating damage from a reinfestation of fungi and bacteria for almost two years – since September 2001. One hundred fifty of the world-famous paintings have developed mold.