Need some extra cash ? Would you consider 'selling' or 'renting' your DNA ?

Consumers will soon be able to sell or rent their DNA to scientists who are trying to fight diseases as different as dementia, lupus and leukemia.

Bio-brokers want to collect everything from someone’s 23andMe and Ancestry.com gene data to fully sequenced genomes.
The data would be sold or rented to biomedical institutes, universities and pharmaceutical companies, generating money for consumers who share their genetic secrets.


The roundup is mostly led by Luna DNA of Solana Beach and Nebula Genomics of San Francisco, startups that are still figuring out how much a person would be paid for their contribution.
It’s part of the booming bio-economy, where so-called “sequencing subsidies” are starting to emerge.
Scientists say they need enormous amounts of genetic data from across different ethnic, racial and age groups, and different genders, to develop diagnostics and drugs.

Additional story at: The San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/science/sd-me-genes-consumerguide-20180514-story.html
(photo/its.gov)

Cherry Fritters - 1915

Like to prowl yard sales for vintage cookbooks ? So do I, among other "treasures, " to uncover. A recent find was, The Boston Cooking School Cookbook, by Fannie Merritt Farmer, copyright 1918.

In 1902, Mrs. Farmer left the Boston Cooking School and founded Farmer's School of Cookery. In addition to running her school, she traveled to speaking engagements around the United States and continued to write cookbooks. In 1904, she published Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, which provided food recommendations for specific diseases, nutritional information for children and information on the digestive system, among other topics.

Farmer's expertise in the areas of nutrition and illness led her to lecture at Harvard Medical School. Farmer died January 15, 1915, at age 57. After her death, Alice Bradley, who taught at Miss Farmer's School of Cookery, took over the business and ran it until the mid-1940s. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is still in print today.

Here's a sampling of a special treat from this vintage cookbook.


Cherry Fritters
2 cups scalded milk
1/4 cup corn-starch
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup Marachino cherries
Mix corn-starch, flour, sugar and salt. Dilute with cold milk and add beaten yolks; then add gradually to scalded milk and cook fifteen minutes in a double boiler. Add cherries, pour into a buttered shallow tin, and cool.

Turn on a board, cut in squares, dip in flour, egg and crumbs, fry in deep fat, and drain. Serve with the Marachino Sauce.

Marachino Sauce
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn-starch
1/4 cup Marachino cherries, cut in halves
1/2 cup Marachino syrup
1/2 tablespoon butter
Mix sugar and corn-starch, add gradually to boiling water, stirring constantly. Boil for five minutes, and add the cherries, syrup and butter.
(The Boston Cooking School Cookbook 1918)

Amazing new database of 18th and 19th Century Ireland launched

How was Ireland depicted in illustrations produced by traveller's from 1680 to 1860?

A new database of images drawn from travel accounts answers this question.

Based on years of research by a group of investigators at NUI Galway led by Professor Jane Conroy, Ireland Illustrated is now available to view online.

Ireland Illustrated, 1680-1860, is a database of over 500 images of Ireland – woodcuts, water colors,  engravings and other illustrations – with related text, drawn from more than 50 manuscript and printed works, and highlighting several neglected or rarely accessible sources.
Many of the pictures in the database, woodcuts, water colors, engravings and other illustrations, have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public.
(Galway Daily)

Additional story and sketches at: https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/amazing-new-database-with-pics-of-18th-and-19th-century-ireland-launched/