Letters to the Editor
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19845
In this article, the study is reported as the “first confirmed acoustic example of classic defensive mimicry.” Not so. In 1986, Matthew P. Rowe and colleagues published in Ethology an elegant study demonstrating that the burrowing owl’s hiss is acoustic defensive mimicry of the rattlesnake’s rattle. William K. HayesLoma Linda UniversityLoma Linda, Calif.
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19844
Your article reports 86 heart attacks among 15,560 rosiglitazone (Avandia) users, versus 72 others in a control group of 12,283. A study coauthor then says that “after statistical adjustment, that yields a 43 percent higher risk of heart attacks among rosiglitazone users.” Simple arithmetic would seem to indicate it was the control group that had […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 23, 2007, issue of Science News
Bad start In “Violent Justice: Adult system fails young offenders” (SN: 4/21/07, p. 243), an association is found between young offenders being tried as adults and increased criminal offenses later. The implication is made that one thing causes the other. Perhaps a better interpretation of the data would be that, because not every young offender […]
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19843
Your article states, “Exercise, estrogen, [and more examples] all rev up production of new brain cells.” I am compelled to ask: If estrogen leads to neurogenesis, does the “male” hormone testosterone also? Jaime HunterMesquite, Texas There’s good evidence that testosterone increases neurogenesis in songbirds but little evidence that it does the same in mammals. —B. […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 16, 2007, issue of Science News
Bigger picture Reading “Pictures Posing Questions: The next steps in photography could blur reality” (SN: 4/7/07, p. 216), I was struck by the similarity between the image that used a cone-shaped mirror and the images you get from gravitational lensing. As the same data are available in both types of images, it ought to be […]
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19842
This article states, “The most likely sea route ran north of Hawaii and down America’s Pacific coast.” The Polynesians were master mariners, so anything is possible, but continuing east from Tonga to South America is an extension of the main voyaging area, whereas Hawaii is well off this beaten path. Tom MallardPhoenix, Ariz.
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19841
People get excited about the birds and bats killed by 400-foot windmills planted in their flyways, but the average wind speed should also be considered. In our region, the wind speed averages 11 to 12 miles per hour, but the windmills are most efficient where winds are 30 mph. Unfortunately, many regions with good wind […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 9, 2007, issue of Science News
Safe passage I have to ask you to remove the subtitle “Dangerous Bridge” under the photograph of the exit ramp from the New Jamarat Bridge in Saudi Arabia (“Formula for Panic: Crowd-motion findings may prevent stampedes,” SN: 4/7/07, p. 213). There has never been an accident on that ramp, and the bridge is now being […]
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19840
While testing was done on 5- or 6-year-old children, it would be interesting to see if this intuitive skill persists after these students are exposed to standard mathematical instruction in the higher grades. I suspect that the answer will be no, as students restricted to a method of learning math will be deprived of this […]
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19839
Rather than concluding that the object that hit Canada 12,900 years ago was a comet, I wonder whether there might not be an alternate reason that geologists haven’t discovered a large hole. If a meteor hit a kilometer-thick glacier, would it have left a crater in the rock underneath the ice? Peter ShorWellesley, Mass. Scientists […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 2, 2007, issue of Science News
Where there’s fire Regarding “Risky Flames: Firefighter coronaries spike during blazes” (SN: 3/24/07, p. 180), was the increased death rate due to firefighters having a higher rate of heart disease than people do in other jobs? An analysis of eating habits may reveal more insight. Jim SchmitzSt. Louis, Mo. The study looked only at what […]
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19838
I would debate the “1,000 watts or more” value attributed to typical adults during strenuous exercise as mentioned in this story. Hiking up steep slopes, I rarely exceed 250 W myself, and typical hikers are going much slower. The 1,000-watt figure can only apply to elite athletes during brief periods of peak exertion. David B. […]
