Designer Cell Phone Cover? Not quite.

Check out the intricate and beautiful patterns in this moss agate found in India. 

It may look like it would make a great case for your iPhone in this picture, but it’s much smaller, only about two inches, in real life! Come see it for yourself at Carnegie Museum of Natural History! 

This necklace made of sardonyx, a type of cryptocrystalline quartz, is on display in Wertz Gallery of Gems and Jewelry. 

Quartz has unlimited variations in color and form, making it valuable to human culture since ancient times in everything from jewelry, to arrowheads, to metalworking.

Remember the Poppy Scene in Wizard of Oz?

These poppies are not going to put anyone to sleep. 

Poppy jasper is a vibrant, reddish variation of brecciate jasper. This piece is on display in Wertz Gallery of Gems and Jewelry. 

When quartz is impure and opaque, it is called jasper.

Eliminating Birth Defects Caused by Nutritional Deficiencies | Dr. Joel Wallach

Dr. Joel Wallach argues that 98% to 99% of birth defects are caused by nutritional deficiencies rather than genetic transmission, asserting that there are no genetically transmitted birth defects.

He claims that ensuring the mother and father consume all 90 essential vitamins and minerals for at least three months prior to conception can completely eliminate conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and cleft palate.

Wallach supports this thesis with several specific examples and anecdotes:

Cystic Fibrosis: He attributes this to selenium and fatty acid deficiency, citing studies where selenium supplementation reversed the condition in animals and humans.

Sickle Cell Anemia/Thalassemia: He contends these are the same birth defect caused by a specific mineral deficiency in the soil, rather than genetics.

Animal Studies: He cites experiments where baby foxes with cleft palates were prevented from passing the defect to subsequent generations by correcting maternal diet with dog food and infant formula.

Prevention Timeline: He emphasizes that the first 91 days of pregnancy are critical for embryonic assembly, meaning prenatal vitamins started after a missed period are "too late."

Wallach’s views are detailed in his book "Epigenetics: The Death of the Genetic Theory of Disease Transmission" and his presentations, where he contends that medical institutions resist these findings to maintain the status quo.

From Mindat.Org Photo Of The Day; November 18, 2015:

Vesuvianite: (Ca,Na,☐)19(Al,Mg,Fe3+)13(☐,B,Al,Fe3+)5(Si2O7)4(SiO4)10(OH,F,O)10; Grossular (Var: Hessonite): Ca3Al2(SiO4)3; Diopside: CaMgSi2O6; Clinochlore: (Mg,Fe2+)5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8

Locality: Bellecombe, Châtillon, Aosta Valley, Italy