Letters to the Editor
- Humans
Letters from the March 1, 2008, issue of Science News
Big evolvers Regarding “Whales Drink Sounds: Hearing may use an ancient path” (SN: 2/9/08, p. 84), I have heard that whales evolved millions of years ago into their present form, including their very large brains. We humans must be relatively recent in terms of our brain structures. Are there data concerning evolutionary development in whales? […]
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19929
In reference to this article, scarcity requires society to allocate. Usually markets do a better job than law at allocating efficiently and fairly. Lake Mead could remain full to the brim regardless of pending climate change. The quoted “demand” for 16.6 km3 of Lake Mead water in Southern California and Arizona is not some fixed […]
- Humans
Letters from the February 23, 2008, issue of Science News
Music of sound I was intrigued by the article “Embracing the Dark Side” (SN: 2/2/08, p. 74). It states: “The interaction of gravity, matter, and radiation in the early universe set up acoustic oscillations, cosmic sound waves that left their imprints on the distribution of galaxies across the sky.” Spanish poet Antonio Machado [1875–1939] put […]
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19928
There is a detail not explicit in this article that fits the computer network analogy. By its flight path, each bird adds its personal input and helps guide the course of the flock. Don BurnapRapid City, S.D. Andrea Cavagna, a physicist at Italy’s National Research Council, says that those studying how flocks of starlings coordinate […]
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19927
This article offers a mechanism to explain the hygiene hypothesis featured prominently in past issues of Science News. If exposure to microbes has a beneficial effect on the immune response of mice, it may also help humans as well. The relatively antiseptic environments that many Western children experience today as compared to the past may […]
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19926
This article was wonderful. We have had light and electron microscopes. Can we look forward to atom-wave microscopes? Bill SchindeleThousand Oaks, Calif. Yes. A team led by Bodil Holst at Graz University of Technology in Austria has built a microscope that bombards a sample with helium waves and then measures how the waves reflect to […]
- Humans
Letters from the February 16, 2008, issue of Science News
Inert placebo? Regarding “Getting the Red Out” (SN: 1/19/08, p. 35): While drug companies wish to market their products, my attention is drawn to the fact that 1 in 8 of the control group of psoriasis patients was cured by placebo effect. Who will investigate the process therein? Is there a market for it? Carson […]
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19925
No way do I understand where the percent changes come from. A change from $80,192 million to $80,494 million is listed as a 1.6 percent decrease. David AdamsGarnet Valley, Pa. The numbers are adjusted for inflation, which will erode buying power by the time fiscal year 2009 begins. At the time we wrote the story, […]
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19924
A familiar side effect of marijuana smoking is increased appetite, often for sweet foods. It is doubtful that the marijuana smokers immediately rush to brush their teeth after eating “munchies.” If they smoke multiple times throughout a day, they may be constantly nibbling on sweets, leaving food lodged between teeth and gums, a fairly direct […]
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19923
I have heard that whales evolved millions of years ago into their present form, including their very large brains. We humans must be relatively recent in terms of our brain structures. Are there data concerning evolutionary development in whales? Matthew KabriskyDayton, Ohio “Learning to Listen: How some vertebrates evolved biological sonar” (SN: 5/14/05, p. 314) […]
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19922
Your article suggests that growth of new brain cells, along with increasing connections, may mediate some of the effect of some SSRIs. Since these new cells would likely persist significantly longer than the drugs themselves, do we see a “cure” after some period of time and, therefore, no need for continued administration of these drugs? […]
- Humans
Letters from the February 9, 2008, issue of Science News
Small, or just invisible? “Heavy Find: Weighty neutron stars may rule out exotic core” (SN: 1/12/08, p. 20) says that the companion star of the pulsar PSR B1516+02B must be “tiny” because it cannot be seen. Isn’t it possible that the companion is made of dark matter? Is there a “wobble” test or other way […]
