Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Real Life Dr. Quinn

How many of you remember the tv show, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman? Well, that character was based off a real life person! And her name was Dr. Susan Anderson.
Last year, the Pikes Peak Historical Society hosted a monthly Chautauqua about this incredible woman. A local actress portrayed Doc Susie in a rousing rendition!

Friday, January 15, 2016

New Book Release

I'm excited to announce the release of my latest book. It's available on Amazon for your Kindle.


Monday, January 11, 2016

It's in the Blood

Hemochromatosis is also known as iron overload disorder. It's a genetic mutation which causes the body to absorb too much iron from a person's diet. The iron is stored in the body's tissues, joints, and
organs (heart, liver, skin). This blood disorder afflicts people of European origin - most specifically Northern European origins. If left untreated, the excess iron will damage organs and lead to death.


image source
The mutation is believed to have originated because of an iron poor diet. If iron is hard to come by, then a body will eventually create a way to glean more iron from the food which is consumed or a way to absorb and store excess iron. Iron is a necessary component for life - aiding in metabolism and oxygen transport.

A common phrase for this disorder is "Celtic Curse" because the majority of the people suffering (see dna chart here!) from it are of Celtic origins. But the disorder goes much further then just Ireland and Great Britain. The Celtic Curse is also common among the people from the countries bordering the oceans and seas by the British Isles. This finding has led some researchers to believe the mutation disorder originated within the Viking communities of Scandinavia. But as more and more research is done, the true origins may be discovered further to the southeast.


image source
Because iron is magnetic, could the excess iron in the body or even the tendency to retain more iron give a person a greater ability to navigate the seas or voyage across a wilderness using the Earth's magnetic field? Much like a flock of birds is able to find their way across an ocean during migration. Did this genetic mutation give the Viking and Celtic explorers an edge when it came to locating new lands and then returning home? Did these people have some sort of internal compass unbeknownst to them?

Would this excess iron also give these cultures an edge when it came to interacting with the Earth's geomagnetic fields of energy? Making them better dowsers? 

For more information about hemochromatosis and its genetic origins, see the links below!

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hereditary-hemochromatosis

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/the-iron-in-our-blood-that-keeps-and-kills-us/266936/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142605/

http://www.hemochromatosisdna.com/about-the-disease/viking-ancestry#.VpK9vPkrLIU

http://genefacts.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159%3Ahereditary-hemochromatosis&catid=111%3Ahemochromatosis&limitstart=5

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000292970763170X