You’ve got to love a little melodrama mixed in with your scientific research. For instance, researchers recently warned of a “real mummy’s curse” out there afflicting collectors and postal workers, thanks to the growing global trade market for mummified remains. There is no actual mystical curse, of course. Just a lot of people getting sick from handling stuff that they shouldn’t be.According to new research published in the International Journal of Cultural Property, mummified human and animal remains are being sold online and shipped across the world more than ever, and often without labels warning of the biological hazards hidden within the package.Researchers examined 128 online listings and found visible signs of fungal growth on 13 of them. Researchers say that pretty much any mummified remains containing surviving soft tissue can be home to microorganisms, even when there isn’t anything visibly suspicious about the specimen.The listings themselves contained 122 human mummies, along with some animal remains from cats and Falcons. Most of the human specimens were complete bodies. It was small stuff like hands, feet, skulls, and even some shrunken heads — which are real, by the way. The researchers found the mummified remains being sold on social media websites, a variety of online auction sites, and online marketplaces.These remains can be loaded with dormant fungal spores that go airborne when jostled, potentially causing serious infections. Embalming materials could be loaded with toxic substances like arsenic, mercury, and lead that a postal worker is unknowingly breathing.Just How Serious Is the Mummy’s Curse?If you’re wondering just how dangerous mummy dust can be, The Guardian points out that back in the 1970s, the tomb of Polish king Casimir IV was cracked open, and 10 of the 12 scientists involved died within weeks after being exposed to Aspergillus fungus.And now we can ship these killer fungi riding on mummies all across the world for low fees, putting buyers, sellers, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and customs officials at risk.In less rational times, we would interpret someone getting sick or dying after coming into contact with mummified remains as the person having been cursed by the specimen. The truth is, it’s a disgusting, rotted limb loaded with dangerous embalming chemicals that you probably shouldn’t be handing off to strangers via a cardboard box that’s lined with bubble wrap.The post Human Remains Being Sold Online Could Spread the ‘Mummy’s Curse,’ Scientists Warn appeared first on VICE.