Meditation and inflammation

While a growing number of people swear by the power of mindfulness meditation to ease anxiety, skeptics question whether the practice offers real physiological benefits. But doubters may want to consider a new study showing that mindfulness has measurable effects on specific markers of stress and inflammation. Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center randomly assigned 89 people with generalized anxiety disorder to take either an eight-week mindfulness-meditation stress-reduction course, or general stress management classes that focused on wellness topics, like healthy eating and good sleep habits. After analyzing blood samples from each participant, the team found people who engaged in mindfulness meditation were better able to cope with stressful situations, ScienceDaily​.com reports. Those who learned to meditate had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) and markers of inflammation, called pro-inflammatory cytokines, than the ones who didn’t. “Mindfulness-meditation training is a relatively inexpensive and low-stigma treatment approach,” says Georgetown psychiatrist Elizabeth Hoge. “These findings strengthen the case that it can improve resilience to stress.”

Decluttering my home of all these pieces of paper I have been saving for this blog has been anxiety reducing, too. Just saying.

Taken from the February 10, 2017 print edition of The Week Magazine.

Vitamin C targets cancer

Most people take vitamin C to fend off a cold, but new research suggests it could also be a possible weapon in the fight against cancer. A team of researchers at the University of Salford in England evaluated seven substances—vitamin C, two natural products, and four experimental cancer drugs—on their ability to block the growth of cancer stem cells, which inhibit chemotherapy and help tumors spread throughout the body. They found that vitamin C did block the growth of cancer cells; in fact, it was 10 times more effective than one of the pharmaceuticals, although it was outperformed by two experimental drugs. The finding adds to previous research indicating that high-dose vitamin C treatments could slow the growth of cancer cells in the prostate, liver, and colon. “Vitamin C is cheap, natural, nontoxic, and readily available,” study co-author Michael Lisanti tells Science​Daily​.com. “To have it as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer would be a significant step.”

Time to beef up my vitamin C intake.
Taken from the March 31, 2017 print edition of The Week Magazine.

Philadelphia Cemetery

I heard this NPR story on Mother's Day this year. Seemed appropriate for this blog.

Because it is the only green space for many folks in down town Philadelphia, they are enjoying and beautifying the 19th century Woodland cemetery on the grounds of the former William Hamilton estate, a botanist.




What caught my attention was that some (many?) of the headstones have eroded and the names can no longer be read. It makes me hope that fellow FAGs (Find-a-gravers) have recorded these interments for posterity. I pray that the paper records are intact and that they have been transcribed.

I was also interested in the discussion about the unmarried, former Civil War nurse. After doing some research on some of the people buried in the cemetery, the interviewee was speculating as to why she became a nurse and what was the role of her father, who lies buried next to her (or vice versa, as she lived until 70.) That is exactly the kind of thing that I want to do - imagine and write the stories of the child free women in my tree.

Take a listen here. It's only 3 minutes of your time.

Dental Plaque reveals Neanderthals' secret

Neanderthals are generally portrayed as simpleminded carnivores. But a groundbreaking new study of hominid teeth has found that some of them were dedicated vegetarians and may even have used certain plants as painkillers. Researchers analyzed DNA that had been preserved in dental plaque from three Neanderthals that lived between 42,000 and 50,000 years ago—two from El Sidrón Cave in Spain and one from Spy Cave in Belgium. They found that while the hominid from the grasslands of Spy ate mostly meat, including woolly rhino and wild sheep, some of the inhabitants of the dense forests of El Sidrón probably ate no meat at all, subsisting instead on moss, pine nuts, and fungi. “It is very indicative of a vegetarian diet,” study co-author Laura Weyrich, from the University of Adelaide, tells NPR.org. “Probably the true paleo diet.” The DNA analysis also suggested that one of the El Sidrón Neanderthals may have consumed poplar tree bark—which contains salicylic acid, one of the ingredients in aspirin—to treat pain from a diarrhea-inducing gut parasite and a tooth abscess. The same hominid’s dental plaque also contained traces of the mold used to make penicillin. Another surprising finding was that Neanderthals had mouth bacteria that was acquired from Homo sapiens, which suggests the species were either kissing or sharing food. The discovery, Weyrich says, indicates that relations between modern humans and Neanderthals were probably “much more friendly than anyone imagined.”

Taken from the March 31, 2017 edition of The Week Magazine.

Oaxacan Carpets

The other day when we were having tornado warnings here in New Orleans I decided to do some uncluttering, as I needed to unplug my computer (and other electronics). I sorted through some of the pieces of paper I have collected for this blog, but never gotten around to writing.

I confess I tossed a number of business cards and ephemera of other artists because they no longer spoke to me. Writing their stories no longer 'sparked joy', but not these cards... I still wanted to share these fiber artists with my readers.

I met the artists, Wence and Sandra Martinez, at the Smithsonian Craft show a couple years ago. On their web site they call that very show "the holy grail of juried national craft shows."

Their work reminded me of my time in Oaxaca because I bought myself a carpet while I was in Mexico.

Coincidentally that same afternoon, when turning my computer back on, I decided to unclutter some of my computer files, too, and came across some photos from my trip to Oaxaca back before 2008 or so. I swear, I did not go looking for them.

There was a confluence of images, which made me realize it was time to write this entry.

These images are poor quality because they were not taken digitally, they are photos that I scanned.

That's my rug, right there. The artists are finishing up my very carpet. (It's not like I commissioned the carpet... and it was a total impulse buy/souvenir.)



I love that you can see some of the other rugs they have in their studio. You can see, too, that I like bright colors... brighter than the more traditional colors. I love that carpet. It always makes me happy.



The town was very small. I hope all the weavers benefit from the success that the Martinez's are having.

PS - Happy birthday to both my Dad and my very good friend, Derek.

Emma Morano

This makes very sad to read:

The last surviving person born in the 19th century died at her home in northern Italy last week. Emma Morano, 117, was the world’s oldest person, and attributed her longevity to her genetics and her diet of three eggs a day—two of them raw—as well as her decision to stay single. Violet Brown, who was born in Jamaica on March 10, 1900, is now the oldest person on Earth.

I'm certainty glad I saw the blurb, though, letting me know of her passing. We met Emma here and here.

Rest in Peace, Emma.

I read this in the April 28th edition of The Week Magazine.

Small world, small world

I occasionally read a blog called Two Nerdy History Girls. These are a couple authors writing romance novels. I have never read any of their novels, but they do seem to enjoy the research. I occasionally contemplate writing novels with my family members as the protagonists, so these women are doing something very similar... and getting paid for their research, whereas my research is merely a hobby (dare I say passion?)

In any event, coincidentally, they mentioned the very same Morris family in their May 12th blog as I discussed in my May 12th blog entry! Ha! And they end their blog with "How small a place the 18thc world was!" Even today, with 6 billion people on the planet, we both mention the Morris family in our Blogger blogs! So, sometimes, still small.

Gouverneur Morris was the brother (or son?) of the signer of the Declaration of Independence. I created his tree is attempting to find my ancestor.

Can I mention another funny coincidence? I have been researching several Jerushas in my tree. Jerusha is clearly an old-fashioned woman's name. I find it exotic sounding. Here's the coincidence: watching this old house, episode 23 in their series on renovating a house in Detroit, their kitchen designer is Jerusha Kaffine. How many Jerushas have you met? I have never met a Jerusha. And then suddenly here she is. It's not like I am a regular viewer of This Old House - though I enjoy it tremendously. So, why did I watch it the night they introduced us to Jerusha?

Furry Pets, Healthier Babies

Catching up on my reading:

The therapeutic value of pets is well-known, but a new Canadian study takes it to another level, suggesting that women with animals have healthier babies. Researchers asked the mothers of more than 700 children about pets they owned during pregnancy and for three months after delivery. They found that babies exposed to furry animals—especially dogs—have significantly higher levels of Ruminococcus and Oscillospira, two beneficial gut bacteria associated with a lower risk for allergies and obesity, ScienceDaily​.com reports. The researchers explain that pet bacteria enhance a newborn’s resistance to those chronic health issues. Prenatal pet exposure also reduces the risk that mothers will pass vaginal group B strep (GBS)—linked to sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis—to children during delivery. Eventually, a “dog in a pill” may be developed to help confer these health benefits, predicts study author Anita Kozyrskyj. “It’s not far-fetched that the pharmaceutical industry will try to create a supplement of these microbiomes,” she says, “much like was done with probiotics.”

From the April 28th print edition of The Week Magazine.

Happy Mother's Day!

Morris Genealogy

Yesterday I mentioned that I went to my local library to see if they had a Morris Genealogy on their shelves.

They had two - both for the mid-west, so I essentially ignored them. (Maybe I should go and look more closely at the oldest generations in the books... It didn't cross my mind that perhaps there were clues there. I believe, however, that I wouldn't be so stupid not to have looked, but I don't recall the answer.)

Anyway, as I perused the shelves there was a book nearby entitled Moseley, Mosley etc. Families (Book 2 of 2): Genealogical Appendix: Apparently Non-Norfolk Lines & Raw Research Notes on Some Readily Available Records. Compiled by Warren L. "Tuck" Forsythe (1944-

Well, I have a Jerusha Moseley in my tree. The name Jerusha always interested me. The name seemed so exotic. And my grandmother never explored her tree.

Well....

When you plug that information in Ancestry.com, much is to be found.

Hahaha! And Dr. Isaac Moseley, with only one daughter, seems to have been a spy for the British! Hahaha!

I know this is the right tree/branch, because Jerusha's second son is named Isaac Moseley Danforth, her fourth son is John Merrick Danforth and her fifth daughter is Lucinda Lucretia Danforth. I think we can trust that Lucretia Merrick is her mother and Dr. Isaac Moseley is her father.

I guess I need to gather some more information on Dr. Isaac Moseley who seems to have been a duplicitous, greedy man. Ha! A good old skeleton in the closet!

Lewis Morris - a signer of the Declaration

Lewis Morris - taken from here.

I was scanning two file folders of my grandmother's genealogical information recently provided to me by my mother. In the files were many, many newspaper clippings of family marriages, engagements and birth announcements. What a treasure trove.

What caught my eye was a claim in the marriage announcement of one of my great uncles that he was descended from Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

My grandmother assembled a really nice book called "Our Heritage" which is broken down in to the four branches growing from her marriage to my grandfather. I never read in that privately published book that we had a Signer in the family. Given that the project was originally begun, I have often heard, to 'prove' that my great grandfather could be a member of the "Sons of the American Revolution", you would think that tidbit would be very important. As it is, that branch in the book ends with: 'no earlier trace of him can be found'.

So, I thought I'd approach the research two ways - build the signers tree and simultaneously see if in the internet age I can find 'a trace' of that missing father, William Morris. The clues I have are his name, Lewis Henry Morris, and the possibility that he was named after an uncle who was a captain sailing between Boston and the West Indies.

I haven't made a connection.

Though, in the signer's tree, there are many, many sons named Lewis Morris. Given my Lewis Morris ancestor was born in 1806/7 - he's probably not a direct descendant, maybe a nephew, though I have not found any connection as of yet. And I have not found anything about that William.

There is mention, though, of the Signer's family members being from Barbados. So maybe there is something there... I just haven't found it.

Here are the clues I do have:

William Morris was a sea captain in command of a vessel sailing between the West Indies and Boston, Massachusetts. It is believed that he came from the West Indies, as he named a son after a brother who was of the West Indies and who plied a ship for Robert Livingston of New York City. No earlier trace of him can be found. He married Margaret Jenkins, daughter of George and Mary (McHard) Jenkins, born May 7th, 1770, married June 7th, 1801.

So, maybe some time spent with Robert Livingston is necessary. Also, maybe a maritime museum or archive would be helpful.

Ok, wait, I took my own suggestion... Robert Livingston is associated with drafting the declaration.... This is a bigger investigation than I can address here.

What I do know, though, is that we have many people with the name Morris as a middle name - clearly nodding to that branch of the tree. (I hadn't really focused on that before; I guess I always thought it was just using the masculine name Morris.) I guess this question requires more investigation.

The source of my grandmother's information is Morris Genealogy and New England Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. My grandmother was not as helpful about where I can find this Morris Genealogy. (I already checked my local library, and nothing there.)