Letters from the October 6, 2007, issue of Science News
By Science News
Cat scam?
Oscar the cat possibly does identify dying patients (“Grim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end,” SN: 7/28/07, p. 53), but the story you printed presents anecdotal rather than scientific evidence and does not belong in a science magazine.
Julie Enevoldsen
Seattle, Wash.
Correlation is not causation. Could it not be that, somehow, Oscar the cat is killing these patients?
Jan Steinman
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Bees’ killer
In “Not-So-Elementary Bee Mystery” (SN: 7/28/07, p. 56), the researchers postulate six reasons for the collapse of the bee colonies. The reason, in my opinion, is evident when considering the extensive use of insecticides throughout the world.