Letters to the Editor
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Letters to the Editor
Pacing Alzheimer’s Science Stats “Alzheimer’s Advancing” (SN: 3/9/13, p. 4) reports a new analysis extrapolating from 2010 U.S. Census data that concludes Alzheimer’s disease will triple by 2050. Omitted in such an analysis is the accelerating advance of science and medicine over the next 40 years. The gloomy prediction makes little sense unless science stops […]
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Letters to the editor
Get a grip The article “Pruney fingers get better grip” (SN: 2/9/13, p. 11) indicated that skin wrinkling in response to extended exposure to water was the result of constricting blood vessels. I was waiting to read about the possibility that this was the body’s response to prevent heat loss. Water has a high heat […]
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Letters to the editor
From the issue of March 23, 2013.
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Letters to the editor
Scrutinizing baseball’s streaks My family owned the Oakland A’s, formerly the Kansas City Athletics, from 1960 to 1980. During this period, our team won three consecutive World Series (1972 – 74) and five consecutive division titles (1971 – 75). I personally witnessed that one player would be on a streak and his attitude appeared to raise his teammates’ spirits […]
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Letters
Dark matter enlightened Tom Siegfried’s article on dark matter “Light in the Dark,” (SN: 1/12/13, p. 18) reminded me of the 19th century search for the luminiferous ether. One can only wonder if history will repeat itself in the 21st century search for dark matter.Jeffery Miller, Los Angeles, Calif. The difference is that the ether […]
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Letters
Weighing factors in obesity In “Obesity research gets weightier” (SN: 12/29/12, p. 28) Nathan Seppa says that green space and a nearby grocery store reduce the incidence of obesity. I think I understand how the green space affects it (clean air, physical activity, et cetera), but I don’t understand how the grocery store does. Is […]
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Letters
Early puberty’s cause Regarding “Early Arrival” (SN: 12/1/12, p. 26): In 1960 I left the Ohio Valley of grass- and corn-fed cows to teach in the Los Angeles area. When I arrived, I found that eighth- and ninth-grade girls looked physically like 25-year-old women in Ohio. I asked the other teachers what was going on. […]
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Letters
Trust no one “Trust affects kids’ patience” (SN: 11/17/12, p. 10) refers only to children. But based on my own experience, I’d expect it to apply to adults as well. If you tell me I can have $100 now or $200 in an hour, what I do will depend on whether or not I trust […]
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Letters
Curiosity cleanup In the article “Protecting the planet” (SN: 11/3/12, p. 32), the sidebar “Keeping Mars clean” gives the impression that Curiosity had not been contaminated, while the opposite is true. Apparently the sterilized craft was opened up and microbial contamination likely occurred. Curiosity’s drill bits may be contaminated with Earth microbes. So now NASA […]
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Letters
To spot a planet “Planetary peekaboo” (SN: 9/22/12, p. 26) says that to hunt for faraway planets, the Kepler spacecraft “watches for blinks occurring when a planet dims a star’s light by passing in front of it.” For a star to dim when a planet moves in front of it requires us to be in […]
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Letters
Fractious debateRachel Ehrenberg’s feature story on hydraulic fracturing “The Facts Behind the Frack,“ (SN: 9/8/12, p. 20) spurred a big response from readers. We received letters voicing strong opinions on both sides of the fracking debate. The article was intended as an overview of what science has to say about the risks of fracking and, due […]
