Researchers studying bones from a cemetery reserved for samurai of the Tokugawa dynasty (1603-1867) found high amounts of lead in the remains of infants and women, perhaps from lead-based cosmetics with which women whitened their faces. The health effects of the lead may have left samurai incapable dealing with political crises. The idea that lead in makeup contributed to political upheaval is “a fascinating stretch,” says Jeffrey Kingston of Temple University, Japan Campus. But he noted that the rival samurai who overthrew the Tokugawa clan probably had the same childhood exposure to lead.