Letters to the Editor

19362

Your article uses the words “placebo therapies such as supportive counseling.” I think that people in the profession and people who have been paying for such therapy would disagree with the characterization. Also, the various permutations of treatment covered in the article didn’t include a very common one: drugs without any serious counseling. In such […]

19361

This article describes the use of the mosquito-borne Sindbis virus to kill cancer cells in lab dishes and mice. It would be interesting to determine whether the human population of the Egyptian town of Sindbis exhibits a reduced incidence of certain cancers. Perhaps large-scale efforts directed toward elimination of the mosquito in populated areas are […]

19290

Unfortunately your article got something wrong in describing the reshaping of aircraft surfaces. It states, “The recently retired supersonic commercial transport, the Concorde, tilted its nose downward for subsonic flight.” This is not the (whole) truth because the reason for this reshaping was not to reduce air drag, but to achieve a far-better view of […]

19289

Nice to know that someone is scanning kids’ skulls for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The essential problem with this sort of thing is that psychology and psychiatry are descriptive endeavors and particularly flexible when it comes to describing ADHD. It’s unlikely that all the behaviors associated with the syndrome have a common physiologic structure. This […]

19288

Your article states, “There are about 4.14 kilograms of carbon in a gallon of gasoline, says Dukes.” If he actually said that, this would seem to qualify this gasoline as an “alternative fuel,” since a gallon of ordinary gasoline is only about 2.5 kilograms in mass. Perhaps Dukes meant 4.14 pounds of carbon per gallon. […]

19287

This article refers to “Japanese research-whaling ships” that “capture” whales. Reputable scientists and environmentalists agree that the Japanese whaling industry operates primarily for slaughter, not research, in violation of antiwhaling treaties respected by virtually all nations. Science News shouldn’t use the propaganda terms favored by those who would drive cetaceans to extinction. Ken PaffDetroit, Mich.

19286

Sounds like this article is on to a fertile field of inquiry. But why were all the subjects who were tested for racial bias white? I suggest that people of other colors be tested, too. In my experience, racial bias cuts many ways. Anne JonesShawnee Mission, Kan.

19359

Your article brought to mind what could be a biblical description of this phenomenon. In Mark 8:22–26, a blind man reports after an initial healing touch by Jesus that he sees people, but they look like “walking trees.” After a second healing touch, the man sees everything “clearly.” While the account doesn’t specify how long […]

19285

The irregular satellites of the outer planets are interesting, as reported in this article, but my heart paused when I read “the medium-size Hale Telescope.” That historic 200-inch telescope was the largest in the world for almost 50 years. Incidentally, it’s on Palomar Mountain, not Mount Palomar. Jay M. PasachoffWilliams CollegeWilliamstown, Mass.

19284

This article, implying the demise of the unique Mexico-Canada migration, seems too pessimistic. Monarchs have shown a great degree of adaptability. There are monarchs of the western United States, resident populations in Hawaii and on Caribbean islands, and a migrating population in Australia. I am betting that even if the weather forecast for 2050 is […]

19283

Your article was such a wonderful example of reporter bias that I had to share it with my children. Growing genetically modified, herbicide-resistant beets and canola “lowers the abundance of other plant species and certain insect groups that typically grow along with these crops.” But genetically modified, herbicide-resistant cornfields “have more weeds and insects than […]

19358

This article says that emotions can both decrease and enhance memories of specific events. It’s been over 40 years since President John F. Kennedy was murdered, and I can remember being in my U.S. History class and hearing the news on the loudspeakers, as if it happened an hour ago. I have absolutely no memory […]