Letters to the Editor
- Humans
Letters from the April 28, 2007, issue of Science News
Long ago gas Finding CO2 levels that are 2,500 times higher in 5,000-year-old fulgurites than in modern samples, scientists have speculated that the extra CO2 resulted from vaporization of organic material by lightning (“Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning,” SN: 2/17/07, p. 101). Could some of this gas reflect elevated […]
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19823
Your article 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 cosmic-ray bath is due. Now, I’m worried that it might be so imminent that Science News didn’t […]
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19822
In this article, 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 is treated as an adult, the system is good at picking […]
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19821
The title of this article exemplifies the problem. By law, the official and preferred system of measurement for all U.S. activities is SI, or the modern metric system. We too often forget that a gram of prevention is worth three kilograms of cure. Education reform at all levels needs to model and teach SI units. […]
- Humans
Letters from the April 21, 2007, issue of Science News
How the West isn’t one The author of “Why So Dry? Ocean temperatures alone don’t explain droughts” (SN: 2/10/07, p. 84), seems to feel, like most other writers do, that “the western United States” properly covers all geographical bases. Believe me, the Pacific Northwest is anything but dry. One other point about geography: Weather phenomena, […]
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19820
The existence of ancient proteins is no surprise. Evidence of remnants of durable, skeleton-associated proteins such as collagen are not uncommon in the fossil record long before Tyrannosaurus rex. For example, remains of bivalve ligaments are known from the mid-Ordovician, over 400 million years ago. Other durable but pliable organic materials, such as protist resting […]
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19819
I was interested to read in this article that running portable generators caused carbon monoxide poisoning, presumably by improper fuel burning. A good solution to this problem is to use a generator that is designed for much lower emissions. I use my Toyota Prius as an emergency generator that can power my house! It can […]
- Humans
Letters from the April 14, 2007, issue of Science News
Heated comments I am disappointed in your article on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) summary (“From Bad to Worse: Earth’s warming to accelerate,” SN: 2/10/07, p. 83). It was a political summary, not the 1,500 page report that’s due in May 2007. How often have you seen a scientific summary published 3 […]
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19818
I find it interesting that even the scientists studying Mars can’t accept that our local star can have a major impact on climate. I am still waiting for the global-warming-crisis mongers to explain how carbon dioxide causes global warming. Donald R. Laster Jr.West Long Branch, N.J. So now we are asked to believe that the […]
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19817
The fact that more people are overdosing on niacin to cover up relatively benign marijuana use exemplifies what’s wrong with the failed “War on Drugs” approach. Chris MajDenver, Colo.
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19816
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. There has never been an accident on that ramp, and the bridge is now being overhauled to make it safer. Dirk HelbingDresden University of TechnologyDresden, Germany
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19815
This article “underscores the vast distances” humans moved from Africa to northern China in 20,000 years. However, if one stops to consider the time frames, it’s extremely unremarkable. At three generations every 100 years and roughly 6,000 miles from Africa to China, people would need to move only an average of 10 miles per generation. […]
