Letters to the Editor
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19859
This article stated that the last player with pieces on the board is the winner. This is not accurate. In fact, no pieces have to be jumped at all for a game to have a winner. The all-encompassing rule is that the last player who has no available move when it is his or her […]
- Humans
Letters from the July 21, 2007, issue of Science News
Quantum leak? Perhaps there need not be “degrees of quantumness” (“Degrees of Quantumness: Shades of gray in particle-wave duality,” SN: 5/12/07, p. 292). As the beams pass increasingly closer to the surface, the plate will induce a small (but increasingly larger) spread of energies (hence wavelengths) in the electrons within the beam, possibly explaining the […]
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19858
This article was written as if this was a newly discovered technology. I have been using an electric shaver with induction recharging for years. Mike YorkPhoenix, Ariz. The ability to project electrical power some distance suggests a possible method to detonate or disable improvised explosive devices. Josef HeitWebster, N.Y. Several readers pointed out that wireless […]
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19857
This article says that “there may be some fundamental difference in susceptibility to nicotine addiction between people who develop Parkinson’s and those who don’t.” If so, how would you explain the fact that “after smokers stubbed out their last butts, the protective effect faded”? Tobacco smoking is becoming unpopular, and for good reason, but I […]
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19856
In this article, researchers found “astronomical concentrations” of deca-BDE in the residents of Guiyu, and the article cites studies showing that related PBDEs harm brain development in mice and rats. So, has any actual increase in brain-development problems been found in people in and around Guiyu? Joanne Raisner NaradLos Altos, Calif. The researchers know of […]
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19855
As an experienced emergency physician, I can assure you that physicians who choose not to use tPA for stroke are not, as characterized in this article, “insufficiently trained or too conservative”. There has been, to my knowledge, no study that has shown decreased mortality with the use of tPA for acute stroke. Most of the […]
- Humans
Letters from the July 14, 2007, issue of Science News
At least a few years to prepare “Northern Exposure: The inhospitable side of the galaxy?” (SN: 4/21/07, p. 244) posits that every 64 million years a mass die-off occurs due to increased cosmic rays. When will the cosmic rays again be at their maximum? Robert RichardsMetairie, La. The article failed to mention when the next […]
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19854
The article didn’t mention that traditional IQ tests are in one sense “language” tests. The Ravens test doesn’t involve language processing in a typical manner. A person with a language disorder, as an autistic person is assumed to be, would do better on a nonverbal test. That the intelligence of autistic people can be underestimated […]
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19853
This article offers two explanations for the correlation of asthma with early infancy antibiotics: a need for the immune system to be trained by early exposure to microbial toxins and a need for normal intestinal microflora in the development of normal immune response. Another possibility is that the rashes and infections that prompted the use […]
- Humans
Letters from the July 7, 2007, issue of Science News
Hex sine? The NASA researchers baffled by the hexagonal shape in Saturn’s soupy atmosphere at its northern pole (“A hexagon on the ringed planet,” SN: 4/28/07, p. 269) should read “As waters part, polygons appear” (SN: 6/3/06, p. 348). It is worth investigating whether there is a similar phenomenon—I still suspect some sort of standing […]
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19852
This article concerning schizophrenia in Palau reported a high incidence of the disorder among first- and second-generation immigrants to the West from developing countries. Could the phenomenon of relatively successful immigrants to the West (or their children) being drawn into acts of terrorism be a manifestation of schizophrenia? Robert E. HubbardWinter Haven, Fla. Schizophrenia isn’t […]
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19851
It has been reported that vinegar, taken before a meal, can lower postmeal blood glucose. If so, the lowering of postmeal blood glucose by alcohol, as reported in your article, may be the result of the alcohol being metabolized to acetic acid by the body. William HaagBloomer, Wis. While both alcohol and vinegar lower blood […]
