Letters to the Editor
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19893
“Antibiotics in infancy tied to asthma” (SN: 7/7/07, p. 14) reported a correlation but no confident explanation for the relationship between receiving antibiotics and later developing asthma. This article, which reports that children with Helicobacter pylori in their stomachs are less likely to get asthma, seems to offer a convincing answer. Virginia BrockRock Island, Ill.
- Humans
Letters from the October 27, 2007, issue of Science News
Heated dispute “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” (SN: 8/25/07, p. 125) states that “an increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, not an increase in solar radiation” is responsible for current global warming. What is the scientific—not political—basis for that remark? Warren FinleyLaguna Beach, Calif. Increasing solar radiation doesn’t affect climate change? […]
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19892
In this article, researcher Curtis Marean refers to Stone Age people using a reddish pigment for “body coloring or other symbolic acts.” What reason is there for jumping to this conclusion? As with cave painting and figurines, there seems to be an undue emphasis on symbolism and a supposition that everything has to have “meaning,” […]
- Humans
Letters from the October 20, 2007, issue of Science News
Well, read Margit L. Bleecker appears to have discovered that those who score highly on reading tests also score highly on tests of memory, attention, and concentration (“How reading may protect the brain,” SN: 8/18/07, p. 110). I don’t find that highly surprising. Ivan MannHoover, Ala. How it happened stance “Alien Pizza, Anyone?” (SN: 8/18/07, […]
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19891
This article describes hydrazine hydrate as a benign and cost-effective alternative fuel to hydrogen. But hydrazine hydrate is a fuming liquid that is toxic, very corrosive, and can decompose explosively. In a reaction with hydrogen peroxide, it powered the German V-2 rockets in World War II. Carl F. Guerci Jr.Severna Park, Md.
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19890
The DNA analysis indicating that some south Siberian bones from the Pleistocene age are from Neandertals matches very well with my interpretation of teeth from those same caves. I proposed in 1990 that the teeth were more like those of Neandertals than any other fossil or modern teeth. Furthermore, it is doubtful that these south […]
- Humans
Letters from the October 13, 2007, issue of Science News
Another idea blown . . . Conservation by America is not going to decrease global warming (“Asian Forecast: Hazy, Warmer—Clouds of pollution heat lower atmosphere,” SN: 8/4/07, p. 68). We need to imitate known global-cooling events, such as the Krakatoa volcano explosion, which spread sunlight-reflecting dust into the stratosphere in 1883. A hydrogen bomb exploded […]
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19889
The news is filled with observations of our species’ role in global warming and in the depletion of fisheries, arable land, fresh water, and fossil fuels. Yet I seldom hear the size of the human population cited as a driving force behind these problems. The easiest path to reducing our environmental footprint would be to […]
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19888
Other than people with HIV or AIDS, the prime model for a group overrepresented among those taking the option of physician-assisted suicide would appear to be educated, insured, financially comfortable, psychologically fit, nondisabled white males between the ages of 21 and 80. Perhaps the research simply demonstrates that we are loath to yield control, even […]
- Humans
Letters from the October 6, 2007, issue of Science News
Cat scam? Oscar the cat possibly does identify dying patients (“Grim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end,” SN: 7/28/07, p. 53), but the story you printed presents anecdotal rather than scientific evidence and does not belong in a science magazine. Julie EnevoldsenSeattle, Wash. Correlation is not causation. Could it not be that, somehow, […]
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19887
In Rio Linda, Calif., on Oct. 4, 1957, my seventh grade classmates and I (the front edge of the baby boom) were busily clipping news accounts of Sputnik for our daily current-events assignment. Less than a year later, we became the first eighth grade class in the school’s history to enroll in Algebra I. Our […]
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19886
This article states that Kenyan researchers report insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce malaria-related deaths in children. While these nets appear to provide preventive measures against malaria, my only concern is the toxicity of the insecticides. The World Health Organization lists two of the insecticides used on the nets, bifenthrin and permethrin, as possible human carcinogens. […]
