Letters to the Editor

18930

According to “Vitaminlike compound eases rare disorder,” coenzyme Q10 is an “expensive, unregulated supplement.” Unregulated, yes, but expensive? That will come as a surprise to the tens of thousands of consumers who buy it regularly in nutrition stores, discount drug stores, and over the Internet. It may not be as cheap as a vitamin, but […]

18929

Your article on the importance to an elephant family of having as its leader a matriarch of considerable age reminded me of the postulation that one of the reasons menopause evolved in humans was to allow some women to survive to old age. In preliterate societies, old people were the libraries. Some of the knowledge […]

18928

I’ve often wondered about packing circles and have always assumed that it would get into messy numbers very quickly. Your article is a charming revelation. It says that if a, b, and c are integers, d will be one, too. I think this is true only if a, b, and c bear some relationship to […]

18927

I just read “Biomedicine, defense to sidestep budget ax.” Now, I know that George Bush owes his rich cronies a ton of money and favors, but a 10-year program to develop clean energy from coal? Why spend 20 years developing energy from coal, which will run out just like oil will and the mining of […]

18926

In reference to “Boosting boron could be healthful,” it’s important to note that there’s no risk in aiming for a high-boron diet. Eighty percent of Americans fall short when it comes to dietary recommendations for fruit, nut, and legume intake. Eating four servings of fruit and a handful of nuts per day could bring boron […]

18925

“Oceans of electricity” was a fine article, but one line should have been added about the engineers of the ’30s who had plans to build wave-power electricity for the eastern United States. World War II interrupted the plans for cheap power without oil, however. Douglas O. Deshazer Omaha, Neb. The article mentions the lack of […]

18924

“Early Brazilians unveil African look” was a very interesting article containing an interesting idea. But some of us guessed the connection all along. Check out Olmec-age stones heads [in the Americas]. These images are African. However, it’s a good bet that migration came from both Asia and Africa. Gloria Harrison Raleigh, N.C.

18923

Regarding “Cold sliver may sense electron quiver,” micro-, nano-, and pico- are fine. But have mercy and explain zepto-! Joel Faitsch Pittsfield, Mass. The prefix zepto- refers to an amount represented by 10–21, or a billionth of a trillionth.–P. Weiss

18922

“Dyslexia gets a break in Italy” brought to mind a remark I learned in grade school decades ago. It is: In English, the word fish can be spelled ghoti. That’s gh as in tough, o as in women, and ti as in nation: “ghoti” = “fish.” English can be difficult. Norman C. Peterson Sata Monica, […]

18921

Depression is a common symptom of magnesium deficiency. Heart attacks, including fatal heart attacks, are also a common symptom of magnesium deficiency. It is thus no surprise that depressed people have a higher-than-normal rate of fatal heart attacks. Bernard Rimland Autism Research Institute San Diego, Calif.

18920

I was disappointed in “Blood relatives.” It ignored the pioneering work by people at the company Somatogen, now known as Baxter Hemoglobin Therapeutics. They first published work on a recombinant hemoglobin for use as a blood substitute in Nature in 1990. Later, they demonstrated definitively that many of the problems associated with blood substitutes were […]

18919

Your recent article on oxygen deprivation interested me greatly. As a jump pilot (hauling skydivers), I visit moderately high altitudes regularly. On a typical busy day, I may go to 14,000 feet 20 times. Granted that I don’t stay there very long, but I wonder if the harmful effects are cumulative. Peter Danes San Diego, […]