Genes are typically not the only determinants of traits.  Although a few traits, such as blood type, are determined strictly by genetics, most traits are influenced both by genes and the environment in which we live.  We do not inherit a disease, instead we inherit susceptibility factors that increase risk for a disease.  For example, recent studies suggest 50 to 60 percent of alcoholism risk is genetic (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).  This means the other 40 to 50 percent of the risk is environmental.  A person may be genetically predisposed to alcoholism due to previous family history.  However, certain healthy lifestyle choices, like minimizing alcohol intake, will help prevent that individual from becoming dependent on alcohol.  The environment can have the same effect on those predisposed to obesity. Obesity has a genetic component caused by the action of multiple different genes.  However studies report dramatically different results on the degree of genetic contribution.  If obesity runs in a family, but an individual chooses to make healthy eating choices and exercise regularly, he or she can prevent obesity.  Genes do not set in stone what traits we will and will not possess.  Ultimately, a person making healthy lifestyle choices and educating themselves on which diseases they are genetically predisposed to can help reduce the risk of certain diseases.  When people hear the word “dominant”, often they incorrectly believe that the majority of the population expresses this trait.  Describing a trait as dominant does not mean it is the most common; it means that it is expressed over the recessive trait.  For example, tongue rolling is a dominant trait, controlled by the dominant version of a particular gene (R).  Individuals with one or two copies of R will exhibit tongue rolling.  Only individuals that have two recessive versions of the gene (r) will lack the ability to tongue roll.  But what does this tell us about the relative commonness or rareness of tongue rolling in a population?  How frequently a trait is observed in a population is not related to whether or not it is dominant or recessive.  Instead, it is a reflection of how frequently the gene responsible for causing a trait is found in people.  For example, polydactyly, the presence of extra fingers and/or toes, can be caused by a dominant mutation.  However, polydactyly only occurs in 0.31-6.18 births in 1,000, depending on ethnic background.  This means it is very rare for a person to have the gene mutation that causes polydactyly, even though it is dominant.  Read much more at http://knowgenetics.org/common_misconceptions/

The better part of valor is discretion  Falstaff:  To die is to be a counterfeit, for he is but the counterfeit of a man who hath not the life of a man; but to counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed.  The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have sav'd my life.  Henry The Fourth, Part 1 Act 5, scene 4, 115–121  Almost invariably quoted today as "Discretion is the better part of valor," Falstaff's phrase elegantly redeems a cowardly act.  The bragging, bulbous knight has just risen from his feigned death; he had played the corpse in order to escape real death at the hands of a Scotsman hostile to Henry IV.  Claiming that abstractions like "honor" and "valor" will get you nothing once you're dead, Falstaff excuses his counterfeiting as the kind of "discretion" that keeps a man from foolishly running into swords in order to cultivate a reputation for heroism.  If counterfeiting keeps you alive, well then, it's not counterfeiting, but an authentic "image of life."  https://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/better-part-valor-discretion

The Supreme Court building was constructed between 1932 and 1935 using several different types of marble.  Vermont marble was used extensively in the exterior.  The inner courtyards were made using bright white marble from Georgia, and the interior corridors and entrance halls are made from creamy white marble from Alabama.  The Lincoln Memorial was built between 1914 and 1922.  Many different stones were used in the memorial.  The terrace walls and lower steps were made of granite from Massachusetts.  The upper steps, columns, and outside facade were made using marble from Colorado.  The interior walls are Indiana limestone (called "Indiana Marble" by many architects).  The floor was made using pink marble from Tennessee, and the statue of Lincoln is made from a very bright white marble from Georgia.  Read about other famous structures and see pictures at http://geology.com/rocks/uses-of-marble/

A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in The Pink Panther series.  Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.  Clouseau's bungling personality is unchanged, but it was in this film that Sellers began to give him the idiosyncratically exaggerated French accent that was to become a hallmark of the character.  The film also introduces Herbert Lom as his long-suffering boss, Commissioner Dreyfus, and Burt Kwouk as his stalwart servant Cato, both of whom would become series regulars.  Elke Sommer plays Maria Gambrelli.  Gambrelli would return in Son of the Pink Panther, this time played by Claudia Cardinale, who played Princess Dala in The Pink Panther. Graham Stark reprised his Hercule Lajoy role in Trail of the Pink Panther.  Kato was named after The Green Hornet character.  For legal reasons, the spelling was later changed from "Kato" to "Cato."  The film was not originally written to include Clouseau, but was an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz adapted from the French play L'Idiote by Marcel Achard.  The film was released only a few months after the first Clouseau film, The Pink Panther.  http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/A_Shot_in_the_Dark_(1964_film)

Gluten refers to the proteins found in cereal grain’s endosperm (a type of tissue produced in seeds that are ground to make flour).  Gluten both nourishes plant embryos during germination and later affects the elasticity of dough, which in turn affects the chewiness of baked products.  Gluten is actually composed of two different proteins:  gliadin (a prolamin protein) and glutenin (a glutelin protein).  Alina Bradford  http://www.livescience.com/53265-what-is-gluten.html  See also http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/gluten-free-diet/art-20048530

The term "gluten-free" has been approved for use on food labels since 2013, and it is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that sets standards for its use.  When you see "gluten-free" on a food label in the U.S., that food must conform to FDA standards for labeling.  The basic components of FDA labeling standards for "gluten-free" are as follows:   (1)  Absence of all gluten-containing grains in the product.  Gluten-containing grains are specified as wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, or their crossbred hybrids like triticale (which is made from wheat and rye).  (2)  Absence of all grain components in a food product (like wheat flour or wheat starch) that have not been processed for removal of gluten.  (3)  Maximal level of 20ppm (parts per million) of gluten in the final food product after gluten-containing components have been processed for gluten removal.  In practical terms, 20ppm of gluten proteins in a food would mean 2 milligrams of gluten proteins in 100 grams of the food (about 3.5 ounces).  For most people with healthy immune, inflammatory, and digestive systems who nevertheless experience gluten-related problems, this trace-level amount of gluten appears to be well-tolerated.  However, for individuals with compromise to these body systems, for example, persons diagnosed with celiac disease, there is no guarantee that unwanted reactions will be prevented following intake at this trace level.  It is also worth noting here that consumption of multiple gluten-free products throughout the day could result in exposure to substantially higher milligram amounts of gluten proteins in foods that fully meet the FDA guidelines for "gluten-free."  http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=381

Americanese in the 19th century  noun  British  depreciative   American English; English which contains many Americanisms.  Origin  mid-19th century.  From American + -ese. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/americanese

Americanese in the 21st century  noun  During a panel discussion on “Anderson Cooper 360” March 20, 2017, Jeffrey Lord said:  Trump was speaking “Americanese” when he tweeted that Obama had orchestrated a “Nixon/Watergate” plot against him.  The president’s supporters knew what he meant, but Washington insiders didn’t and blew it out of proportion.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/03/21/trump-didnt-lie-jeffrey-lord-says-on-cnn-he-just-speaks-a-different-language-americanese/?utm_term=.a711267fa162

See also From 'American Knees' to 'Americanese' by Peter Kelley at http://www.washington.edu/news/2012/01/20/from-american-knees-to-americanese/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1683  March 24, 2017  On this date in 1693, John Harrison, English carpenter and clock-maker, invented the Marine chronometer.  On this date in 1808, Maria Malibran, Spanish-French soprano, was born.