Gleanings of the Week Ending January 10, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article. (Note: I have changed the format to include the date and source of the article.)

11/9/2025 BBC Seated salsa - the miracle movement to help ease back pain – Wow – easy to do and very effective. I might even be able to do it on road trips….increase the likelihood of no back pain when getting out of the car!

12/30/2025 Clean Technica Maryland’s Largest Solar Project Launches, On Old Coal Mine – In Garret County MD – “helping to preserve our region’s natural beauty while creating new economic value for our residents. It’s a win-win for us and the environment.” Goo for them!

12/29/2025 Yale Environment 360 Sea Ice Hits New Low in Hottest Year on Record for the Arctic - The Arctic endured a year of record heat and shrunken sea ice as the world’s northern latitudes continue a rapid shift to becoming rainier and less ice-bound due to the climate crisis. The Arctic is heating up as much as four times as quickly as the global average, due to the burning of fossil fuels, and this extra heat is warping the world’s refrigerator. We can point to the Arctic as a faraway place but the changes there affect the rest of the world.

12/30/2025 Science Daily Why your vitamin D supplements might not be working - Magnesium may be the missing key to keeping vitamin D levels in balance. The study found that magnesium raised vitamin D in people who were deficient while dialing it down in those with overly high levels—suggesting a powerful regulating effect. This could help explain why vitamin D supplements don’t work the same way for everyone and why past studies linking vitamin D to cancer and heart disease have produced mixed results. (I also learned that dark chocolate is a good source of magnesium from this post!)

12/26/2025 National Parks Traveler Visual Guide Reveals Stunning Fossil Discovery at Lake Powell – A visual guide published this year and compiled by paleontology experts within the National Park System offers a fresh look at paleontological resources across the 13 park units in the State of Utah. It is available online here.

12/19/2025 Smithsonian Magazine Flesh-Eating Screwworms Are Creeping Closer to a Comeback in the United States - Roughly 60 years ago, the United States eradicated the New World screwworm, an insect that feeds on living tissue. A concerted effort led by USDA wiped them out by 1966 by releasing sterile male flies and, since female flies only mate once, this strategy helped diminish their numbers until the population collapsed. The agency estimates the eradication of screwworms saves ranchers $900 million per year in lost livestock. But now, the flesh-eating creature appears to be creeping closer to a comeback. Efforts are ramping up to monitor for screwworms and prepare to fight it back again.

12/17/2025 Archaeology Magazine How did the Roman invasion of Britain impact health? - The health of the women and children declined overall during the Roman period, but mainly among those who lived in urban areas. The decline in health in urban areas can be attributed to overcrowding, pollution, limited access to resources, and devastating exposure to lead in Roman infrastructure.

12/17/2926 The Conversation The US already faces a health care workforce shortage – immigration policy could make it worse - America’s health care system is entering an unprecedented period of strain. An aging population, coupled with rising rates of chronic conditions, is driving demand for care to new heights. The workforce isn’t growing fast enough to meet those needs. For decades, immigrant health care workers have filled gaps where U.S.-born workers are limited. Nationally, immigrants make up about 18% of the health care workforce, and they’re even more concentrated in critical roles. Roughly 1 in 4 physicians, 1 in 5 registered nurses and 1 in 3 home health aides are foreign-born.

12/15/2025 Nature Tracing pollution in the lives of Arctic seabirds – Scientists on Svalbard — the largest island of the Norwegian polar archipelago: there used to be sea ice in the fjord in May when we arrived for the start of the season, but we haven’t seen any sea ice since 2009. They are monitoring the presence of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the birds. The years long research has shown that some contaminants transfer to the yolks of the birds’ eggs. High levels of PFASs have been found to lower hatching rates and reduce overall survival rates. In particular, PFASs disrupt hormones and lower fertility rates in male birds.

12/14/2025 The Marginalian A Decalogue for the Dignity of Growing Old: Eva Perón’s Revolutionary Rights of the Elderly – Eva Peron identified 10 rights of elderly people in 1948 to be included in Argentina’s Constitutional Reform the following year; the right to assistance, housing, nourishment, clothing, physical health care, moral health care, recreation, tranquility, and respect.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 27, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article. (Note: I have changed the format to include the date and source of the article.)

12/4/2025 American College of Emergency Physicians Opinion: Physicians Must Reduce Plastic Waste - Waste audits in the emergency departments (EDs) of Kent Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island, and Mass General Hospital in Boston found that four pounds of waste is generated per patient, per encounter, and about 60 percent of the waste is plastic…. If we consider our plastic footprint with everything we are doing, we can adjust our habits to give our patients and our world healthier care.

11/19/2025 Consumer Reports Consumer Reports announces winners of its Microplastics Detection Challenge - Contest challenged participants to develop simple and inexpensive at-home tests to enable people to detect microplastics in their food. 

12/12/2025 Yale Environment 360 Dozens of Countries See Their Economy Grow as Emissions Fall - Historically, more industry meant burning more fossil fuels. But renewable energy has made it possible to generate more wealth without producing more emissions. The U.S. and most of Europe, have completely decoupled growth from emissions over the last decade. Fortunes rose, while emissions fell. Together, these countries account for 46 percent of the global economy.

12/12/2025 Science Daily Scientists find dark chocolate ingredient that slows aging - Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between dark chocolate and slower aging. A natural cocoa compound called theobromine was found in higher levels among people who appeared biologically younger than their real age.

12/11/2025 Clean Technica Drones, Diesel, & Policy: Two Countries, Two Agricultural Futures - China’s rapid adoption of agricultural drones is one of the most interesting examples of technological divergence between two major food producers. The contrast is striking. Chinese pilots are now treating an amount of land with drones each year that is larger than the total farmland base, which means multiple drone passes on the same fields to handle weeds, pests, fertilizer and sometimes seeding. At the same time, the United States is advancing a policy coalition that targets DJI with composite national security concerns and proposes to ban the most widely used spray drones in the country. This fight matters because the ban would remove the only cost effective and widely deployed option for seeding and spraying. It would also shut down a path for lower diesel use and lower chemical demand in a sector that does not have many easy ways to cut operating costs.

12/11/2025 Smithsonian Magazine Gas Stoves Are Poisoning Americans by Releasing Toxic Fumes Associated with Asthma and Lung Cancer - A new study, published this month in the journal PNAS Nexus, suggests that gas stoves are the main source of indoor nitrogen dioxide pollution in the United States, responsible for more than half of some Americans’ total exposure to the gas. The gas can irritate airways and worsen or even contribute to the development of respiratory diseases like asthma. Children and older individuals are particularly susceptible to its effects.

12/7/2025 Cool Green Science Family, Survival and Change: The Secret Life of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker - In the heart of the longleaf pine forests of the southern United States, a quiet drama plays out each spring. Inside tiny nest cavities high into pines, red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) parents work tirelessly to feed their chicks. They live in family groups where everyone, even older offspring, helps care for the young. That’s what makes them special; they’re cooperative breeders, families bound not just by instinct, but by teamwork. These woodpeckers remind us that recovery isn’t just about numbers. It’s about understanding the subtle, interconnected forces that make life possible in the first place. 

11/30/2025 The Conversation 56 million years ago, the Earth suddenly heated up – and many plants stopped working properly - Plants can help regulate the climate through a process known as carbon sequestration. However, abrupt global warming may temporarily impact this regulating function. What happened on Earth 56 million years ago highlights the need to understand biological systems’ capacity to keep pace with rapid climate changes and maintain efficient carbon sequestration.

12/8/2025 The Planetary Society The year in pictures 2025 - This collection of images, going as far back as late November 2024, captures some of the highlights of humanity’s exploration of space over the past year.

11/6/2025 The Scientist What Happens When a Fly Lands on Your Food? - How many microbes does a single fly typically carry? How many microbes does it take to get people sick?

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 6, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Vitamin C Rejuvenates Aging Ovaries in Primates - A long-term primate study suggests vitamin C may slow ovarian aging by reactivating antioxidant defenses—though fertility effects remain untested. Oxidative damage contributes to aging not only in ovaries but also in the brain, heart, and kidneys—raising the possibility that similar interventions might benefit other organs.

Rings of Rock in the Sahara - In northeastern Africa, within the driest part of the Sahara, dark rocky outcrops rise above pale desert sands. They are thought to have formed as magma rose toward the surface and intruded into the surrounding rock. Repeated intrusion events produced a series of overlapping rings, their centers roughly aligned toward the southwest. The resulting ring complex—composed of igneous basalt and granite—is bordered to the north by a hat-shaped formation made of sandstone, limestone, and quartz layers. Photo taken from International Space Station.

How your hormones might be controlling your mind - Hormones are chemical messengers released by certain glands, organs, and tissues. They enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, before binding to receptors in a specific place. The binding acts as a kind of biological "handshake" which tells the body to do something. For example, the hormone insulin tells liver and muscle cells to suck up excess glucose from the blood and store it as glycogen. We still don't understand exactly why some people are so sensitive to hormonal fluctuations, while others aren't. We know that hormones impact mood and mental health, but we need to figure out how they do so before we can come up with the proper treatments.

Texas Voters Approve $1 Billion per Year for 'Critical' Water Infrastructure – Wise move by Texas voters; hopefully it will be enough to keep up with the state’s growing population and resulting demand for water. More details here.

How Does Sugar Affect Our Oral Microbiome and Teeth? - Less processed foods, especially those high in fiber, are often less sticky, which decreases bacteria’s ability to adhere and overgrow at a surface. Additionally, the fiber acts like miniature brushes. “These fibers constantly remove plaque from your tooth surfaces. The additional chewing of these types of foods also increases saliva production, which washes out the oral cavity, removing excess bacteria from the mouth surface to limit the formation of biofilms. Meanwhile, additional sugar from candy and other sweet products disrupts this whole community. Not only are these processed foods stickier, giving the bacteria a place to latch onto, but they also form biofilms.

How Satellite Imagery Reveals Plastic Pollution Hotspots in the Ocean - Plastic pollution isn’t just a sad environmental story we scroll past on the news anymore; it has become a personal health emergency. It is a genuinely scary reality that microplastics, those tiny, unseen fragments, have made their way into our lungs and bloodstreams. To grasp the sheer scale of this threat, researchers are turning to Sentinel satellite imagery, utilizing it as an essential “eye in the sky” to track exactly where these hazardous accumulation zones are growing. However, mapping is just the diagnostic tool; the ultimate cure lies in fixing land-based waste management.

The photos showing why pink dolphins are the Amazon's 'great thieves' - As fishermen cast their nets into the river, suddenly a sleek pink shape emerged from the depths, swimming toward the trapped fish. Moving quickly, the creature – an Amazonian pink river dolphin – poked holes in the net and stole a catfish. Known locally as boto in Portuguese and bufeo in Spanish, the pink river dolphin is a funny sight. With its melon-shaped head, rose-colored skin, and slender, hundred-toothed snout, it is the largest freshwater dolphin in the world, growing up to 2.5m (8.2ft) long and weighing as much as 200kg (440lbs). Four types of pink river dolphins live in the Amazon River basin. All of them are endangered, facing significant population declines in recent decades due to hunting, entanglement in fishing nets, pollution and droughts.

Half of heart attacks strike people told they’re low risk - A new study led by Mount Sinai researchers reports that commonly used cardiac screening methods fail to identify almost half of the people who are actually at risk of having a heart attack. People who appear healthy according to standard assessments may already have significant and silent atherosclerosis. Because of this, depending solely on symptoms and risk calculators can delay detection until meaningful prevention is no longer possible. Doctors should shift their focus from detecting symptomatic heart disease to detecting the plaque itself for earlier treatment, which could save lives.

Clogged Glymphatic System Linked to Dementia Risk - The brain’s built-in clearance system, called the glymphatic system, removes toxins from the brain through the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via minuscule channels that trace blood vessels. Scientists have suspected that the glymphatic system may play a role in processes such as sleep and recovery from traumatic brain injury. MRI scans from nearly 40,000 people revealed biomarkers linked to defective toxin clearance in the brain predicted the susceptibility to dementia later in life.

Ansel Adams Photos Capture Daily Life Inside Japanese Internment Camps During WWII - The establishment of Japanese internment camps is arguably one of the darkest moments in American history. Between 1942 and 1946, about 120,000 people of Japanese descent were forcibly relocated into these concentration camps. This was done out of unfounded suspicions that Japanese Americans might act as saboteurs or spies following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In 1943, celebrated American photographer Ansel Adams visited the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California, creating a timeless document of the daily life on this site. The 244 photo collection can be browsed on the Library of Congress website.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 15, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Inflammation Starts Long Before the Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis - Millions of people around the world suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that causes debilitating joint swelling and pain. New research reveals more early biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis which may lead to ways to prevent, rather than treat, the disease.

Bottled Water is a Major Source of Microplastics - Nano- and microplastics have been linked in studies to inflammation, immune dysregulation, cardiac events, and metabolic disruptions. Though human data are still emerging, evidence also suggests a connection to respiratory disease, reproductive issues, and even neurotoxicity. 

Traces of Opium Detected on Egyptian Alabastron - Traces of opium have been detected in an ancient Egyptian alabaster vase held in Yale University’s Peabody Museum. It had been previously suggested that such vases held perfumes or cosmetics for royal elites.

Gum disease may quietly damage the brain - Researchers observed that participants with gum disease had significantly more white matter hyperintensities, even after accounting for other risk factors. The findings hint that chronic oral inflammation could subtly impact the brain, especially in older adults.

6 Best Non-Toxic Lunch Boxes That Don’t Shed Microplastics – I am using my glass left-over containers….but I don’t need to carry my lunch every day!

How Air Pollution is Aging People Faster - Long considered mainly a threat to the lungs and heart, air pollution is now emerging as a driver of biological aging at the molecular level. With air pollution’s role in accelerating aging, researchers are exploring interventions ranging from reducing emissions to using protective measures. Alongside identifying the effects of different pollutants, scientists are now investigating the biological mechanisms through which air pollution accelerates aging.

Domestic Solar Manufacturing Booms During Trump Administration with Entire Solar Supply Chain Reshored - New data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) shows that the entire solar supply chain has been reshored and U.S. manufacturing capacity has grown across every segment of the solar and storage supply chain. With the news of Hemlock’s new ingot and wafer facility coming online in Q3, the United States now has the capacity to produce every major component of the solar supply chain.

Covid 2020: Where cruise ships went to die - Aliağa Ship Breaking Yard in Turkey is the fourth-largest facility in the world for breaking down large ships, and as the effect of cancelled cruises began to bite, it's where many of the cruise companies sent their huge ships to die.

China Has Added Forest the Size of Texas Since 1990 - In many wealthy nations — the U.S., Canada, Russia, and much of Europe — forests are making a comeback, according to the U.N. assessment. As India and China become more developed, they too are seeing forests return. Even as fires and drought destroy some forest, on balance, these countries are adding trees. Over the last three and a half decades China has planted roughly 120 million acres of forest, according to U.N. figures, much of it added to contain the spread of deserts.

How Do Cadaver Dogs Recognize Human Remains? - Someday scientists will understand how cadaver-associated molecules bind to receptors in dog noses and how this binding, in turn, affects the molecules’ structure and chemistry. Knowing the exact stimuli that cadaver dogs pick up may also advance researchers’ efforts in building “electronic noses.” These chemical sensors are not meant to replace cadaver dogs but rather as stand-ins that could go to places that are inaccessible or too dangerous for dogs.

Evaluating Memory Care Facilities – Again

My sisters and I have decided the niggling issues with my dad’s current assisted living/memory care situation have become significant enough for us to research moving him to a different facility. The main issues are:

• The staff yells rather than coming to get him for meals. He thinks all the yelling is directed at him (even when the are yelling for someone else to come).

• He is alone in his room a lot.

• His fingernails are always dirty, and the staff does not clean his electric razor.

• When he doesn’t like a meal (usually because he can’t chew the meat well), they don’t offer anything else even though we provide protein shakes for that issue.

• Things seem to disappear – clothes, towels, combs.

Some of the appealing aspects of the place we chose 2 years ago don’t matter as much now. For example, he is no longer physically able to walk in the beautiful neighborhood; he doesn’t see well enough to see the details of the trees and small garden near the patio which we have planted/watered although he does enjoy the yard furniture on the patio when it’s not too hot or cold. The smaller setting of a former house turned into assisted living/memory care has not led to interactions or friendships with the staff or other residents as we expected.

 I am being more thorough when I look for a place now and I have a checklist that I cobbled together from various sources(https://alzni.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/assisted-living-checklist.pdf, https://www.agingtogether.org/uploads/1/3/0/9/130908318/memory_care_checklist.pdf, and https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/memory-care-checklist).

I have three places that I am looking at in detail. I’ve looked at their websites and made an appointment for a tour. My sister filled in some of the checklist for one of them and I have incorporated the answers she got into the checklist I will use when I do the tour with them.

All of them are larger than where he is now…more institutional. They have more specialized staff because of their size – nurses in the facility on weekdays and on call the rest of the time, a chef. My sisters and I feel the responsibility making the best decision for him and his ongoing needs. We acknowledge that the move will not be without some anxiety for him and for us…but we are doing everything we can to make sure it will be better him (after the settling in time).

Road Trip to Dallas/Sustaining Elder Care – October 2025

My October trip to Dallas was 4 days rather than 2 because my sisters and I have decided to move my dad to a different memory care facility….and we are exploring our options. More about that in later posts. I visited with my dad the first afternoon I was there and then the next three mornings. He is a morning person just as I am.

The drive from my home to Dallas was a sunny fall day. I made my usual stop at the Texas Welcome Center on US 75…noted the beautyberry there. The high point was a tree I had not noticed before because it was a little further from the path. It was an oak but not the same as the trees near where I park. The lobes were rounded…so a type of white oak. The acorns were huge. I realized that it was burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa)! I picked up an acorn from the ground, and it will become part of my tree table materials!

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The day had warmed up enough for my dad to have some quality time out on the patio. Someone had already watered so I just enjoyed talking to him and taking some pictures of the late fall blooms/seeds. All the plants were ones propagated from his last house. I found myself wondering if we would put as much energy into plantings at a new place. My mother always enjoyed the garden more than my dad.  He likes getting outside but more for the sunshine and walking than garden views.

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We did some rounds of easy physical therapy exercises and worked on a 300-piece puzzle that had been started previously…or rather I worked on it with him saying he couldn’t see well enough but enjoying the feel of the interlocking pieces I put in place. I purchased a 35-piece puzzle that I left for one of my sisters to start with him. Maybe he can do that one by feel. We are realizing that at some point, the puzzles will drop off his activity list.

He wants to wear long sleeved shirts and a quilted vest even though the residence is kept relatively warm. One of the staff people teased that he somehow senses what the outdoor temperature is and dresses for the outdoors!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 11, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

What Makes Bruises Change Color Over Time? - What appears as a red or purplish skin contusion in the beginning, slowly transitions to green, yellow, and finally brown, before disappearing entirely. What are the mechanisms that produce this bouquet of bruise colors?

Scientists finally explain the real reason pregnant women get morning sickness - According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 80% of early-stage pregnant mothers experience some nausea, vomiting and aversions to certain foods and smells. A unique mix of inflammatory responses function to prevent the mother's body from rejecting the fetus, alongside adaptive behavioral mechanisms, like nausea, that encourage the mother to avoid foods that are potentially harmful, especially in the first and second trimesters when the fetus is most vulnerable.

This company is turning empty offices across America into farms - Area 2 Farms is a three-year-old company based in Arlington, Virginia, that’s taking the concept of indoor farming to unusual spaces. Its first farm, in Arlington, grows dozens of varieties of crops (including lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and mushrooms, as well as more niche items like amaranth microgreens and purple shamrock) in a low-slung brick building tucked between a dog day care and a car repair shop. The goal is to eventually build indoor farms within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population.

Bird Soaring Below a Total Solar Eclipse Wins 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year – Some beautiful…some thought provoking.

In Her Final Interview, Jane Goodall Issued Urgent Call to Protect the Planet - “We need to protect this planet and think about the future,” she told The Wall Street Journal. “Because if we don’t, that’s the end of our species. Humans are not exempt from extinction.”

Leaf Layer Safari: How to Spot Hidden Moth Cocoons in Your Backyard - This autumn, instead of raking, try exploring. Step carefully, look closely, and you may discover a miniature safari happening right under your feet.

Scientists Studied the Genes of a Woman Who Lived 117 Years - The findings point to a combination of genetic luck and lifestyle choices.

The Secret Apartment Atop the Eiffel Tower - Around 1,000 feet above Paris’ streets perches Gustave Eiffel’s apartment, complete with a bathroom, a kitchen, and wax sculptures of Eiffel, his daughter, and Thomas Edison. At the very top of the tower, Eiffel allotted himself a 1,075 square foot private office, and with it the best view in Paris. After all, he had footed three-quarters of the bill.

Winter Transforms the Mississippi River Delta - The Mississippi River’s watershed drains 41 percent of the United States (spanning all or part of 31 states) and reaches into two Canadian provinces. Its nutrient-rich waters support fertile agricultural lands along its shores and throughout the deltaic basin. The river also plays a role in the U.S. economy by providing transportation shipping routes. To maintain these functions, engineers have implemented channelization to help maintain navigable shipping lanes and, in recent decades, launched sediment diversion projects aimed at returning vital sediments to the wetlands.

How to future-proof your knees - After back pain, throbbing aches in the knees are the most cited musculoskeletal ailment in older adults. The post shows five quick, home-based exercises which will all help.

Sustaining Elder Care – September 2025

My September trip to Texas to see my dad was at the time of year that the sun rises about the time I make my first rest stop. There were enough clouds to make it worth photographing.

At the Texas welcome center about 4 hours later, the beautyberry and turk’s cap were looking good.

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The temperature was about 90 degrees by the time I got to my dad’s assisted living residence in Dallas. We went outside to water plants (the sunflowers are looking good) but we opted to go back indoors to do his physical therapy exercises. He is managing them relatively well, but they seem to wear him out more quickly than just a few months ago. My sisters and I are staying focused on the exercises with him so that he can maintain is mobility as long as possible.

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The next morning, I was there before breakfast, and the temperature was pleasant outside. We did the physical therapy exercises on the patio and talked about the plants that we had brought from his house and the tomatoes that aren’t doing so well this year. Sometimes he seems to remember…sometimes he just shrugs. But he still seems to enjoy the time outside listening to planes coming and going to Addison Airport.

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We didn’t work on a puzzle. The last few times we’ve tried, he complained that he couldn’t see. His eyesight is problematic so it could be the new reality.

My strategy is to simply accept him the way he is, encourage him to do the things he can (maybe stretching a bit beyond on some of the physical therapy exercises), and enjoy our time together.

Plastics Crisis: Show-Me Less Plastic Workshop

The Show-me Less Plastic workshop that I attended was provided by a partnership of Missouri River Bird Observatory and Stream Teams United. It is specific to Missouri but part of a nationwide effort from Beyond Plastics. The parts of the workshop that were local to the Springfield, Missouri area were provided by James River Basin Partnership.

It was held in a Springfield library (the photo is of a sculpture in the library) with a Panera Bread that catered the plastic-free lunch.

There was an overview of why plastic pollution is a crisis (health of everything on the planet including us is at increasing risk)…but the audience was already onboard with that. We were also aware of the long-term message from the plastics industry that the convenience of single-use plastic is so fabulous that we simply need to be more successful at recycling to resolve any problems…but recycling hasn’t worked and it is unlikely to ever be sufficient. The industry is assuming that recycling will not work since they are projecting a huge demand for new single use plastic production to take the place of their revenue stream from fossil fuels trending down as more renewable energy becomes available. The problem is huge and may very well be a more imminent threat to lives that climate change.

The bulk of the workshop was focused on going beyond what an individual can do: community education and outreach, influencing business and policy makers….first steps.

I am writing this the day after the workshop. There will be a follow-up email from the workshop coordinators.  There are still some things I am working on as an individual to reduce my family’s risk (but it is not possible to eliminate exposure micro and nano plastics…and it will get harder as there are more plastics in the environment). I have a tentative list of actions, but I want to work with a local Beyond Plastics Affiliate to be with others that are taking similar actions.

I came away from the workshop with one of the ‘door prizes’ – a stainless-steel container (with a straw!)…different than my other water bottles. This one will work well in  the car!

Previous Plastic Crisis posts

Sustaining Elder Care – July 2026

It has become easier to keep my father in puzzles because they are worked more slowly now. He can’t see as well, so we have started lining up edge pieces for him snap together. He enjoys the tradition of working on the puzzle even if he is no longer able to do it the way he did in the past. He has such a smile on his face when he runs his hands over the surface of a finished puzzle!

My sisters and I have continued to guide his PT exercises, and his mobility is improving very slowly. It is enough that his doctor has scheduled another round of PT for him. Sometimes when he won’t do the PT exercises themselves, we walk around the big room of the residence several times; we’ve started guiding his walker since sometimes he does not see objects in his path.

His favorite food is still ice cream – as it has been for many years. It is one of the few things that has not changed for him – and that he is vocal about. He does like root beer floats for a change of pace.

Sometimes he is more talkative although he sometimes can’t remember the word he needs…other times he seems to not want to talk at all. He often shares that he ‘will be leaving soon.’ I wonder if it is the equivalent of my grandmother asking us in the last year of her life, ‘why am I still here?’

At 94 he is probably the oldest person in the assisted living residence. All the other residents are usually dressed in lounge wear…but my dad has stayed with jeans and button front shirts like he has for the decades since he retired! My sister bought him some sweatpants during the winter – but he didn’t like them at all.

My sisters and I realize that he is declining, and we strive to find ways to preserve activities that he seems to enjoy…to focus on doing things with him that will sustain his quality of life even though our success is usually only partial.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 14, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Millions of new solar system objects to be found and 'filmed in technicolor' -- studies predict – The era C. Rubin Observatory ‘first look’ event is June 23! It is located on Cerro Pachon ridge in northern Chile. I found myself wondering how the deep funding cuts in the US will impact the facility and the scientists involved.

How electric scooters are driving China's salt battery push - Even as the rest of the world tries to close its gap with China in the race to make cheap, safe and efficient lithium-ion batteries, Chinese companies have already taken a head-start towards mass producing sodium-ion batteries, an alternative that could help the industry reduce its dependence on key raw minerals. A bigger market for sodium-ion batteries may be energy storage stations, which absorb power produced at one time so it can be used later.

Dead End: Nine Highways Ready for Retirement - This year’s nominees include Austin’s Interstate 35, which exacerbated segregation in the urban core when it was built in 1962, replacing a once-vibrant boulevard that served as a community gathering space.

The Overlooked Biodiversity of Appalachian Caves – Many of these creatures would be on the list for Missouri caves as well!

A Bauhaus-Trained Artist Wove Tapestries in the Woods for Decades. Now, Her Legacy Comes into Focus – I enjoyed the art and the biography of the artist!

Unique Silla Kingdom Crown Was Decorated with Insect Wings – Found in South Korea in a 1,400-year-old grave…a gilt-bronze crown decorated with a series of heart-shaped indentations that had been delicately inlaid with the colorful wings of the jewel beetle, some of which remained in situ after almost a millennium and a half.

Tea, berries, dark chocolate and apples could lead to a longer life span - Increasing the diversity of flavonoids within your diet could help prevent the development of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and neurological disease.

Experts Think the Hagia Sophia Is in Danger. They’ve Got a Plan to Protect It from Earthquakes - In light of recent earthquakes in Turkey, experts fear the 1,500-year-old mosque is structurally vulnerable, and the Turkish government has ordered a renovation. A team of government-appointed engineers, architects and art historians will begin by stripping a layer of lead that covers the main dome and looking for ways to strengthen the connections between it and the semi-domes. They’ll also look for ways to improve the main pillars and subterranean supports. Experts are also hoping that the work may reveal older murals from previous periods in the Hagia Sophia’s layered history.

Secrets of the Gobi Wall Revealed - Snaking for 200 miles across the inhospitable terrain of southern Mongolia, the so-called Gobi Wall is the least studied section of a system of medieval fortifications that once extended from China into Mongolia. The wall was primarily constructed from rammed earth, stone, and wood during the Xi Xia period (AD 1038-1227), a dynasty ruled by the Tungut tribes of western China and southern Mongolia. It was much more than a purely defensive mechanism built to repel invasions, but that it also served to regulate trade and manage frontier movements.

Why climbing the stairs can be good for your body and brain - Climbing stairs has been found to improve balance and reduce the risk of falling for older people and improve their lower body strength. Other studies also find that climbing a couple of flights of stairs can positively affect our cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, memory, and potentially creative thinking. As a "low impact" form of exercise, even short bursts of stair climbing can help improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 7, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Warming Linked to Rising Cancer Rates Among Women in the Middle East - As temperatures in the region rose, so did cancer rates in Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Syria, which are prone to extremely hot summers. Increasingly extreme heat is making air pollution worse, weakening our immune systems, and putting additional strain on hospitals. These and other factors could be driving up the risk of cancer.

90-Year-Old Korean Artist Kim Yun Shin Is Finally Going Global – Creative longevity!

Archaeologists Unearth Two Rare African Figurines in 1,500-Year-Old Christian Burials in Israel - The artifacts are carved from rare ebony wood that originated in India or Sri Lanka. Each figurine features a small hole through which a cord might have been threaded, allowing the owner to wear it around their neck.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing - In an early iteration of modular housing, kit homes were sold by companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward in the early and mid-20 century - complete with “all the materials that a kit home purchaser needed to build the home, including at least 10,000 pieces of precut lumber to suit the model of the home, drywall, asphalt roof shingles, carved staircases, and the nails, door knobs, drawer pulls, paint and varnish needed to do the job. Electrical, heating systems, and plumbing materials could also be purchased at extra cost.”

Scientific breakthrough brings CO2 'breathing' batteries closer to reality - Scientists have made a breakthrough in eco-friendly batteries that not only store more energy but could also help tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Lithium-CO2 'breathing' batteries release power while capturing carbon dioxide, offering a greener alternative that may one day outperform today's lithium-ion batteries.

Fitness fight: Native bees struggle against invasive honey bee - High densities of European honey bees could be harming Australian native bees' 'fitness' by reducing their reproductive success and altering key traits linked to survival. Has this happened in North America as well?

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse – Missouri rocks: When an asteroid struck Earth some 66 million years ago, the one blamed for wiping out the dinosaurs, it is believed to have sent a tidal wave crashing onto North America. Marine fossils and rock fragments found in southeastern Missouri appear to have been deposited there by a massive wave generated by the asteroid hitting what is now Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Among the rocks and marine fossils, scientists have found fossilized pollen from the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene periods that reflects changes in the surrounding ecosystems. The pollen reveals how ecosystems were instantly disrupted at the time of the asteroid, before gradually rebounding over hundreds to thousands of years.

A New, Shape-Shifting ‘Flapjack’ Octopus Has Been Discovered in the Deep Sea Off the Coast of Australia - The tiny cephalopod grows only about 1.6 inches across, but it can survive more than half a mile beneath the ocean’s surface. During the 2022 expedition, the team used high-tech cameras, nets and sleds to collect samples and snap photographs deep below the ocean’s surface. Many of the specimens they found are thought to be new species.

Fast food, fast impact: How fatty meals rapidly weaken our gut defenses - Researchers discovered the gut protective protein, IL-22, was rapidly depleted in mice after just two days of eating high-fat foods.

Where To Go Caving in the National Park System – Mammoth Cave, Carlsbad Caverns, Wind Cave, Crystal Cave in Sequoia, Jewel Cave, Lehman Caves in Great Basin. I have been to all of them except Crystal Cave and Lehman Caves. Mammoth Cave would be the closest for me to see again.

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 31, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

10 Ways Vincent Van Gogh Continues to Make News, Even Today – An artist that has been ‘newsworthy’ for a very long time. This post about recent instances of ‘Van Gogh mania.’

Measles vaccines save millions of lives each year – Statistics about measles and the impact of the vaccine…history and how the choices we make will have impacts on the future trajectory of the disease.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve – It became a national park in 2020. I’ve driven through it…stopped at a visitor center…but haven’t experienced it the way I have other national parks.

Forty Years of Change in Louisiana’s Wetlands – Images from Landsat 9 from 1985 and 2024 show that much of the wetland has transitioned to open water….reshaped by storms and sea level rise.

In healthy aging, carb quality counts - The researchers analyzed data from Nurses' Health Study questionnaires collected every four years between 1984 and 2016 to examine the midlife diets and eventual health outcomes of more than 47,000 women who were between the ages of 70 and 93 in 2016. The analysis showed intakes of total carbohydrates, high-quality carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and total dietary fiber in midlife were linked to 6 to 37% greater likelihood of healthy aging and several areas of positive mental and physical health.

Wildlife Photographer Captures Mid-Air Battle of Two Birds Fighting for Dinner – The battle over a vole between a Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl in British Columbia, Canada. Dramatic photos. Both birds are over Missouri Prairies in the winter too!

How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire - According to researchers in Switzerland, the Romans had something of a penchant for sweet chestnut trees, spreading them across Europe. But it wasn't so much the delicate, earthy chestnuts they craved – instead, it was the fast-regrowing timber they prized most, as raw material for their empire's expansion. And this led to them exporting tree cultivation techniques such as coppicing too, which have helped the chestnut flourish across the continent.

China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon - China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental impacts on the world’s longest and deepest canyon. It has also alarmed neighboring India, which fears that China could hold back or even weaponize river water it depends on.

Step Into a Painstakingly Recreated 3D Model of the Parthenon, Now Restored to Its Ancient Glory - By combining archaeology and technology, a researcher has shed light on a longstanding architectural mystery: how the ancient Greeks experienced the inside of the Parthenon, the Athenian Acropolis’ largest temple, built and dedicated to the goddess Athena in the fifth century B.C.E.

How Tikal Became One of the Greatest Mayan Cities—and Then Vanished - Nowadays, the ruins of Tikal, an ancient Maya city in northern Guatemala, have been largely reclaimed by the jungle. Howler monkeys jump from pyramid to pyramid. Bats hide in the crevices of abandoned homes. Bullet ants and tarantulas crawl along the forest floor while coatis—racoon-like animals with long, upright tails—search for fallen fruit. Many of the city’s structures remain unexcavated to ensure their preservation. Tikal began life as a series of small, unassuming hamlets. Across centuries, it grew into one of the largest and mightiest cities in the loosely affiliated network of municipalities that made up the Maya civilization. At its peak, which approximately lasted from 600 to 900 C.E., Tikal comprised an area of roughly 50 square miles, 3,000 stone structures, and a population that may at one point have exceeded 60,000 people. While other Maya settlements like Chichen Itza remained inhabited well into the 12th century C.E., Tikal is thought to have collapsed around the year 900.

In a Waiting Room

Last week my husband was scheduled of out-patient surgery. The situation had changed significantly from my January 2022 outpatient surgery experience when Covid-19 protocols closed waiting rooms. The expectation now is that patients have a person, usually a family member, that stays at the waiting room during the surgery. We left for the hospital at 5 AM and were home by a little after 11 AM.

We went to the lobby registration desk for initial sign in…and were given a buzzer like restaurants sometimes use. Within a few minutes of sitting down, the buzzer went off and we went with an administrative person to make sure all the payment information was correct. Back in the waiting room for a few minutes…and we were called again by a person to take us back to the pre/post op area. I helped my husband into the hospital gown and socks….put all his clothes in a bag that I would keep (that was the expectation…and I found myself wishing his clothes were not as bulky). The anesthesiologist and surgeon came to talk to us. By 7:15 AM he was prepped and on his way to the OR and I was on my way to the waiting room. I had been given a number so I could track his status on the screens there. I checked in at the desk …in anticipation of the surgeon coming out after the surgery was complete to talk with me.

I filled the time between 7:15 AM and 9:35 AM in that waiting room. Getting a pastry from the bakery/café for breakfast was my first activity. I had loaded some novels on my phone for reading material. I made 3 Zentangle tiles. The time passed relatively quickly. The area was not crowded but it was clear that there were quite a few morning surgeries. One man lay down on one of the longer bench chairs and napped. Most people were reading on their phones; I didn’t hear a single phone ‘ring’ so people must have followed direction to silence them. The green plastic bags with patient’s clothes were near every person in the waiting room! I kept my daughter apprised of the everything via texts.

Everyone must have been a little anxious…most seemed hyper alert (except for the one person that slept) but at the same time relatively calm and appreciative of the quiet, calm demeanor of people at the reception desk in the room….they set the tone.  

The waiting room had small rooms at each end where the conversations with the surgeon could happen in private. There was a picture of a dogwood in bloom on the wall in the room I was assigned. The surgeon came in…reported positive results…talked about the recovery instructions which would be printed and provided to us by the nurse. I was back in the waiting room for a few minutes before they gave me a post op room number where my husband was.

He was groggy still from the anesthesia. He seemed to be very challenged to rank the amount of pain he was feeling. It took about an hour for him to eat a snack and get dressed…meet the criteria for being released.

I called my daughter to meet us at our house since I wasn’t sure how mobile he really was. When we got home, I held onto his arm to go into the house…and used the path with the fewest steps. It was slow going but we managed, and he immediately took a nap. The pain med he was given just before he left the hospital had taken effect!

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 24, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

American Schools Have Been Feeding Children for More Than 100 Years. Here’s How the School Lunch Has Changed - The National School Lunch Program is the longest running children’s health program in U.S. history, and it has an outsized impact on nutritional health.

Pompeii’s Most Fascinating Finds of the Decade—So Far - From children's drawings to ancient fast-food counters, new finds continue to reshape our understanding of daily life in the ill-fated Roman city. very year, archeologists come across remains and artifacts that broaden our understanding of what daily life in Pompeii and, by extension, the rest of the Roman Republic was like.

Where in the world are babies at the lowest risk of dying? – Data collected by countries…and then tweaked to be made more consistent so that comparisons can be done. It’s about how to look at statistical data.

How gardening can help you live better for longer - In 2015, Norway became one of the first countries to create a national dementia care plan, which includes government-offered daycare services such as Inn på tunet – translated as "into the yard" – or care farms. Now, as researchers recognize the vast cognitive benefits of working on the land, more communities are integrating gardening into healthcare – treating all kinds of health needs through socially-prescribed activities in nature, or green prescriptions.

Chasing Unicorns: A Photographer’s Journey Documenting Rhino Conservation - Bringing the rhinos from one conservancy to another was a monumental effort. A photographer documented the work of conservationists and veterinarians.

Gilded-Age Tiffany Window Heads to Auction with Multimillion-Dollar Price Tag - With most surviving examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s mastery of mottled glass still affixed to the walls of churches or stately homes, purchasing opportunities are rare.

Pit Stops on the Monarch Flyway: Arkansas Partnership Benefits Pollinators - You just don’t see as many monarch butterflies as you used to. Researchers have documented that eastern populations of monarchs have declined by as much as 80 percent since the 1990s. A partnership in Arkansas is restoring pollinator habitat, providing those critical stops for butterflies to rest and feed. The habitat is also utilized by migratory songbirds and northern bobwhite, a popular gamebird that has seen significant declines.

Vitamin supplements slow down the progression of glaucoma - In glaucoma, the optic nerve is gradually damaged, leading to vision loss and, in the worst cases, blindness. High pressure in the eye drives the disease, and eye drops, laser treatment or surgery are therefore used to lower the pressure in the eye and thus slow down the disease. n experiments on mice and rats with glaucoma, the researchers gave supplements of the B vitamins B6, B9 and B12, as well as choline. This had a positive effect. A clinical trial has been started to see if the vitamins have the same impact in people.

163 Treasures from King Tut’s Tomb Arrive at the Grand Egyptian Museum - The museum one step closer to staging the first-ever complete display of the legendary boy king’s golden treasures. I remember the two King Tut exhibits I have views – in New Orleans and Baltimore.

Sulfur runoff amplifies mercury concentrations in Florida Everglades - Sulfur applied to sugarcane crops in South Florida is flowing into wetlands upgradient of Everglades National Park, triggering a chemical reaction that converts mercury into toxic methylmercury, which accumulates in fish.

Sustaining Elder Care – May 2025

My sisters had shared with me that Dad seemed to be sleeping more…rebelling at doing physical therapy because he was too tired. But he seemed alert and, while not enthusiastic about doing physical therapy, he acquiesced and did reasonably well. He went outside to sit on the patio while I watered the garden too. When we came back in, he complained that he couldn’t see.

He did go to an eye specialist since my last visit. They confirmed that his vision is one eye is very limited (light/dark only) and that the eye pressure is still too high to preserve the vision in the other. New eye drops were prescribed, and they seem to be reducing the pressure considerably. But….there is already damage. I suspect that coming from bright light (outdoors) to indoor lighting is a problematic time because his eyes don’t adjust to the change very quickly. I guided his walker until we got to the puzzle table.

His eyesight makes the puzzles more challenging than ever, but he still manages to place a few pieces…although I am not sure how he does it. We finished a puzzle that was already mostly done during my afternoon visit. He is still pleased when the puzzle is finished – it’s an accomplishment. This time there was a piece we found on the tray that was obviously too small of the current puzzle (and there was not a hole for another piece)! A little mystery.

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The next morning, I arrived before his breakfast. I took a few pictures of the big trees in front of his assisted living residence while I waited for them to open the door. Now that he is not going on walks around the neighborhood, he doesn’t see them very often.

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We took the completed puzzle apart and started a new one. He takes longer to find edge pieces (always the first step). I think he is doing it totally by feel now. We made the frame, minus one piece, before breakfast was served and I left to begin my drive back to Missouri while he enjoyed it.

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Gleanings of the Week Ending May 03, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Foraging Violets – I have a lot of violets growing in my yard…and I am going to start harvesting them for salads. Why buy fresh greens when there is such a plentiful supply that I can pick just before I eat them?

The Unexpected Science of Staying Happy – An article about the World Happiness Report. The U.S., Canada, and Switzerland—all once top 10 contenders—have dropped out of the top 20 for the first time since the report began. That decline is linked to a drop in social trust and a rise in what researchers call “deaths of despair,” especially among men over 60​.

The 120-Year-Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees – A different perspective on history….more substantial than tents.

Exquisite Street Photography Celebrates the Different Moods of New York City at Night – More umbrellas than I expected.

Emily Cole, Daughter of Hudson River School Icon, Shines in Overdue Museum Show – She became a porcelain painter (botanicals) and painted in her father’s studio…. exhibiting her work a what is now the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

Relics of a Red World in Bighorn Basin – Satellite image of “red beds” in northern Wyoming and Southern Montana formed when the land was part of Pangea and there were extreme wet/dry seasons causing hematite in the rocks to oxidize (rust). The area is rich in fossils and oil/gas reserves.

Tree Rings Bear Witness to Illegal Gold Mining Operations in the Amazon, New Study Finds – The miners use liquid mercury which is then burned to obtain the gold….releasing toxic mercury into the air. Core samples from trunks of fig trees show the mercury levels…when they ramped up and how substantial they were/are.

Smoke from US wildfires, prescribed burns caused premature deaths, billions in health damages - Researchers estimated that smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns caused $200 billion in health damages in 2017, and that these were associated with 20,000 premature deaths. Senior citizens were harmed the most.

Check Out the First Confirmed Footage of the Colossal Squid, a Rare and Enigmatic Deep-Sea Species – This was a young one….only a foot lot. They can grow to be 23 feet long

The Only Ancient Greek Theater on the Ionian Islands Is Finally Unearthed – It was discovered in 1901 but was reburied after their survey…and olive groves and makeshift warehouses eventually covered the site. The site was abandoned during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 19, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Survey: US Public Spaces Not Meeting Community Needs – Funding for maintenance and basic improvements seems to be the key issue.

I tested some of the most popular ways of meeting new people. Here's what I found – The author engaged in 4 ‘hobbies’ and assessed their effectiveness in fostering social connection: team sports, bouldering, creative writing sessions, and a life drawing course. Evidently, they all worked for her! For me – my volunteer activities (with Missouri Master Naturalist and my county’s Friends of the Library) are the way I meet new people; I tend to like the triadic interactions (attention both to each other, and to an object or activity of mutual interest) that volunteering provides.

These Unassuming Artifacts from King Tut’s Tomb Could Tell a Remarkable Story – Originally the 4 small unbaked earthen dishes were thought to be stands for the nearly four-foot high gilded wooden staffs…but a new study proposes that the clay troughs would have held libations, most likely of water, aimed at the purification and rejuvenation of Tutankhamun in the afterlife, a rite known as the Awakening of Osiris.

Cuts to the National Weather Service May Have Serious Impacts on National Parks – And for everywhere else too. Weather impacts everybody.

New research boosts future whooping cough vaccines – My father – now in his 90s – almost died from whooping cough as a young child. Deaths have become less common since the vaccine although they are still in the double digits in the US. In 2024, several outbreaks left public health officials and hospitals scrambling to accommodate a sudden influx of patients, primarily infants, who are often too young to be vaccinated and suffer the most severe symptoms. I’m glad that a new vaccine may be more effective and longer lasting than the one we have now.

Study Reveals Mercury-Poisoned Industrial Age Child – A three- to four-year-old child died in France sometime in the 18th or 19th century. The youngster suffered from rickets and scurvy likely caused by poor living conditions during the Industrial Revolution. But there were also high levels of mercury in his bones and teeth. The study ruled out sources of mercury contamination and concluded that the child had been administered the toxic metal as a cure for his ailments, which ultimately killed him.

At 97, Endangered Tortoise Becomes Oldest First-Time Mom of Her Species with Four New Hatchlings – Four Galapagos tortoise hatchlings at the Philadelphia Zoo!

Celebrating Seeds – From The Prairie Ecologist. So many obstacles must be overcome for a seed to become a mature plant producing seeds….continuing the cycle of the species.

Antarctic Sea Ice Plunged in Summer 2025 - In 2025, summer sea ice in the Antarctic tied for the second-lowest minimum extent ever recorded in the 47-year satellite record. It’s not yet clear whether the Southern Hemisphere has entered a new norm with perennially low ice or if the Antarctic is in a passing phase that will revert to prior levels in the years to com

Global Economy More Vulnerable to Warming Than Previously Thought - By rattling supply chains, future storms and heat waves will also send ripples throughout the global economy, inflicting costs far higher than models currently show. No country is immune.

Sustaining Elder Care – April 2025

My dad had his 94th birthday this past month – his second in the assisted living home. My sisters provided special foods and balloons over at least 3 days. One of the celebrations was shared with the staff and other residents of the assisted living home.

I visited before his birthday and was pleasantly surprised that the physical therapy sessions had improved his physical stamina since my visit in late February. He was able to stand up from sitting more easily…and we walked outdoors for about half the distance he had been doing last fall (so not fully recovered but trending positive).

He was a bit more alert when we worked on one of the puzzles I brought with me…for a little less than an hour. When he is tired and ready to quit, he complains about not being able to see well; there is probably a permanent impairment in one eye…and his readers always seem to need cleaning which might impact his sight in the other eye.

He talked a little more (although some of what he said was clearly gleaned from sometime long ago rather than recently). He admitted that much of what he thinks about seems to be happening recently, but it is too much to really all be in the past few weeks! He seemed more interested in the slideshow that one of my sisters put together to play on his television during the day. It doesn’t include people (which he would have trouble identifying) …it focuses on places he visited…farm machinery that he might remember from his growing up. The tractors are always a favorite.

I only see him once a month. Sometimes it seems like he is declining…and there is a slight recovery. The last visit was a “recovery” and I am looking forward to the next visit …hoping the trend continues.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 29, 2025

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How long will you live? New evidence says it’s much more about your choices than your genes - Environmental factors influence health and longevity to a far greater extent than genetics. Environmental factors had the greatest impact on lung, heart and liver disease, while genetics played the biggest role in determining a person’s risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers, and dementia. The environmental factors that had the most influence on earlier death and biological ageing included smoking, socioeconomic status, physical activity levels and living conditions.

'The ice melted beneath our feet': The huskies that revealed the rapid shrinking of Greenland's ice - Greenland experienced record ice loss in 2019, shedding a total of 532 billion tones from its giant ice sheet, according to a 2020 study. On average, Greenland loses 234 billion tons of ice per year. What's distinctive about Greenland is how much melting happens on the surface in the summer, because Antarctica doesn’t get anywhere near as much.

Humboldt Penguins on the Edge – Temperate penguins of Chile and Peru. They hunt in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current, the world’s largest marine upwelling, that flows a few miles offshore. They are excellent swimmers and deep divers in their pursuit of anchovies and other fish. Humboldt penguins have come back from the edge of extinction before—it will take the continued efforts of local communities, governments and partners to bring them back again.

Study: 'Sustainable intensification' on the farm reduces soil nitrate losses, maintains crop yields - A nine-year study comparing a typical two-year corn and soybean rotation with a more intensive three-year rotation involving corn, cereal rye, soybean and winter wheat, found that the three-year system can dramatically reduce nitrogen -- an important crop nutrient -- in farm runoff without compromising yield.

These Everyday Artifacts Tell the Story of Harriet Tubman’s Father’s Home as Climate Change Threatens the Historic Site – The site is in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge – the first place I saw a bald eagle in the wild (in the early 1990s). My family visited there many times when we lived in Maryland, and we observed the transition of the marshes to ghost forests and then then open water over the next 30 years. The refuge is obviously changing with rising sea level.

Plastic recycling gets a breath of fresh air - The researchers used a molybdenum catalyst and activated carbon -- both of which are inexpensive, abundant and non-toxic materials. The mixture with PET was heated and, after a short period of time, the chemical bonds within the plastic broke apart. With the tiny bit of moisture from air, the material turned into terephthalic acid (TPA) -- the highly valuable precursor to polyesters. The only byproduct was acetaldehyde, a valuable, easy-to-remove industrial chemical.

This English Burial Site May Be Centuries Older Than Stonehenge - Flagstones, a burial site in Dorset, on the English Channel, may be the earliest known large circular enclosure in Britain. It is a perfectly circular ditched enclosure, with burials and cremations associated with it and may have even served as a prototype for later sites such as Stonehenge, which is located just 45 miles to the northeast. The ditched enclosure was created around 3200 B.C.E., with burials placed in it at that time. The scientists were also intrigued to find that a young man was buried under a large stone at the site fully a millennium later.

Climate change threatens future of banana export industry - It will be economically unsustainable by 2080 for many areas across Latin America and the Caribbean to continue growing bananas for export, because of rising temperatures caused by climate change.

Spring Spectacle: Thousands of Tulips Bloom at One of LA’s Top Gardens – Reminds me that I need to plan a visit to the botanical gardens near where I live in Missouri for tulips soon!

Portraits of women who 'shine a light': from an 'analog' astronaut to a watermelon farmer – Vignettes of women from around the world…what a range of activity!