Letters to the Editor

19305

This article is somewhat misleading. We physicians long ago learned that blocking the enzymatic process (with Antibuse) helps alcoholics. The news is that increases in acetaldehyde in saliva have “possible local carcinogenic action.” Malcolm A. Sowers Castro Valley, Calif

19304

I was dismayed to see you publish an unsubstantiated and highly misleading claim that welfare “reform” is not harming children. The study dealt with the atypical welfare mothers able to find sustainable employment. For them, I don’t doubt that having enough money rather than too little would be an improvement. Unmentioned are the many unskilled […]

19303

You state in this article that in the last century, the average global temperature has risen about 0.6C. I suspect that most of the sensors in use today are not in the precise locations of thermometers 100 years ago. Also back then, there were wide areas of the globe that were probably not being monitored […]

19227

The July 22 cover, “Sticker shock,” and the related article say that the powerful forces that arise at the surface of micromachines weren’t expected. Any skilled machinist who has used Johannsen gauge blocks in measuring and checking his work would not be surprised at all. These blocks are stacks of hardened steel rectangles with highly […]

19302

I beg to differ with the quote, attributed to Ethan Temeles in this article: “This is the first really unambiguous example of ecology playing a role in the morphological differences between the sexes.” The statement exhibits the annoyingly common practice among zoologists to think and generalize as if only animals (and, even worse, only vertebrates) […]

19226

This article on waterproof coats was interesting, but the process used by the Turkish scientists would require evaporating the solvent. Should not possible harmful environmental side effects be considered before a new industrial process is created? Kenneth CrookSan Jose, Calif. I believe this same phenomenon occurs on the leaves of the common perennial lady’s mantle […]

19225

Your article on home-water disinfection in Africa reminds me of a water treatment method proposed a long time ago. It consisted of a long (200-foot), U-shape tube sunk in the ground as part of the water-delivery system. No organism could survive the pressure at the bottom of it. Lawrence EldenDearborn, Mich.

19178

Another new anti-HIV drug in the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) class that has shown promise is TMC125. You don’t mention this drug, but it has been shown in trial studies to have replaced five drugs for drug-resistant patients, it produces a large drop in viral load, and it has been shown to have very […]

19177

This article fails to mention the very plausible explanation that was offered at the time by those who produced the Republican campaign ad. Namely, that they were using a graphics-software program that produces the effect in question for any word. The validity of the research isn’t affected by whether the appearance of “rats” in this […]

19224

In reference to the hands-free headsets mentioned in your article, it has been shown that on the wire to a cell phone, a standing wave can exist that can penetrate deep into the brain. Peter L. NelsonAvoca Beach, Australia

19034

Phthalates have been subject to significant regulatory scrutiny by governmental agencies. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show exposure levels well within the safety levels established by federal regulators. Further, a growing body of evidence indicates that studies using rodents may not be relevant to humans. Marian K. StanleyAmerican Chemical CouncilArlington, Va.

19223

The July 8 story about “trilobite farming” states that “these trilobites would be the earliest creatures known to have forged a partnership with another species.” What about the fact that eukaryotes formed a partnership with other single-celled creatures that became mitochondria or chloroplasts? Now, if you mean that this was the first extracellular partnership, then […]