A team of scientists in France and Britain has detected a rare mineral compound within the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's iconic painting. According to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Leonardo da Vinci, a painter, inventor and anatomist, created the Mona Lisa using a technique seen in works a century later.

A team of scientists in France and Britain has detected a rare mineral compound within the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's iconic painting. According to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Leonardo da Vinci, a painter, inventor and anatomist, created the Mona Lisa using a technique seen in works a century later. The study, using X-ray diffraction, provides pristine knowledge about the intricacies of the painting from the 1500s, CNN reported. The findings show that the base layer of the paint in Mona Lisa was a compound called plumbonacrite with lead white pigment and oil. According to a study published in 2019, Rembrandt used the same mineral compound for his paintings during the 17th century. However, researchers have not found it in artworks from the Italian Renaissance until the most recent analysis. ALSO READ | For the first time, an AI system discovers supernova without human intervention Plumbonacrite is the combination of lead oxides with oil. Artists like Rembrandt used the compound to help the paint dry. However, its presence in the Mona Lisa suggests that Leonardo da Vinci could've been the technique's pioneer. "Everything which comes from Leonardo is very interesting because he was an artist, of course, but he was also a chemist, a physicist — he had lots of ideas, and he was an experimenter … attempting to improve the knowledge of his time," said Gilles Wallez, the author of the latest study on Mona Lisa. "Each time you discover something in his processes, you discover that he was ahead of his time," he said. Like many paintings from the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci created the Mona Lisa on a wood panel that required a thick base layer. Researchers suggest that the legendary painter might have combined lead oxide powder with linseed oil to create a thick coat for the base layer. However, he might've unknowingly created the rare compound. Researchers, nowadays, aren't allowed to take samples from the Mona Lisa, placed at the Louvre in Paris and protected behind glass. Wallez and his team used a micro-sample from 2007 and analysed it using a high-tech machine called a synchrotron. "These samples have a very high cultural value," Wallez said. "You can't afford to take big samples on a painting, so a synchrotron is the best way to analyse them," he added. The study also mentioned that da Vinci's mural, The Last Supper, had the same chemical mixup as the Mona Lisa. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Mona Lisa reflects Leonardo da Vinci's genius in more ways than one. Here's how

'Anti-government elements' in Afghanistan attacked the main UN&nbsp;compound in the capital of the western province of Herat on Friday and at least one security guard was killed, the UN&nbsp;Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said. 
 
The attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, happened hours after Taliban fighters penetrated deep into Herat city, and there were heavy clashes with Afghan security forces near the UNAMA provincial headquarters, officials said. 
 
It also came as US-led foreign forces near a complete withdrawal of troops and Afghan security forces struggle to hold back Taliban fighters in three major provincial capitals. 
 
In a statement following the attack, the United Nations said it was urgently seeking to establish a full picture of the assault and was in contact with the relevant parties. 
 
It was not immediately clear, who attacked the compound, but a Western security official told Reuters all diplomatic compounds in the city were put on high alert. 
 
"The United States strongly condemns the attack on the United Nations compound in Herat," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement, reiterating a US&nbsp;call for reduction in violence in Afghanistan. 
 
UNAMA said the attack was against the entrances of the compound that were clearly marked as a UN&nbsp;facility. 
 
“This attack against the United Nations is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN&nbsp;Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. 
 
UNAMA said no UN&nbsp;personnel were hurt. 
 
The Taliban put the incident down to possible crossfire. 
 
"It is possible that guards could have sustained harm in crossfire due to close proximity of the office to the fighting," the insurgents' spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter. 
 
He added that Taliban fighters had 'arrived at the scene' and that the compound was 'not under any threat'. 
 
The Taliban have already captured swaths of the province of Herat, which borders Iran, before entering the capital.

'Anti-government elements' in Afghanistan attacked the main UN compound in the capital of the western province of Herat on Friday and at least one security guard was killed, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

'Anti-government elements' in Afghanistan attacked the main UN compound in the capital of the western province of Herat on Friday and at least one security guard was killed, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said. The attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, happened hours after Taliban fighters penetrated deep into Herat city, and there were heavy clashes with Afghan security forces near the UNAMA provincial headquarters, officials said. It also came as US-led foreign forces near a complete withdrawal of troops and Afghan security forces struggle to hold back Taliban fighters in three major provincial capitals. In a statement following the attack, the United Nations said it was urgently seeking to establish a full picture of the assault and was in contact with the relevant parties. It was not immediately clear, who attacked the compound, but a Western security official told Reuters all diplomatic compounds in the city were put on high alert. "The United States strongly condemns the attack on the United Nations compound in Herat," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement, reiterating a US call for reduction in violence in Afghanistan. UNAMA said the attack was against the entrances of the compound that were clearly marked as a UN facility. “This attack against the United Nations is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. UNAMA said no UN personnel were hurt. The Taliban put the incident down to possible crossfire. "It is possible that guards could have sustained harm in crossfire due to close proximity of the office to the fighting," the insurgents' spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter. He added that Taliban fighters had 'arrived at the scene' and that the compound was 'not under any threat'. The Taliban have already captured swaths of the province of Herat, which borders Iran, before entering the capital.

UN compound attacked in western Afghanistan, at least one guard killed

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