Letters to the Editor
-
19724
I wonder if the researchers in this article have made any observations of the prevalence of males mating with juvenile females when mature females are present in the environment. Carolyn CramoyLake Placid, N.Y. Maydianne Andrade of the University of Toronto at Scarborough says that no information on that is available yet. She and her team […]
-
19723
I won’t state that “dark matter” hasn’t been discovered. However I disagree that empirical evidence for it is demonstrated in this collision. Other phenomena that could explain the images include excitation of preexisting gases or imaging artifacts. Nowhere in the article does it state that the mass of “dark matter” was actually observed passing unimpeded […]
-
19722
There is a serious limitation to the “print clock” technique described in this article that can probably be addressed. The method proposed holds good only for works with small print runs (such as expensive maps), where the damage to the printing surface in successive printings is minor in comparison to deterioration over time. Damage to […]
- Humans
Letters from the August 26, 2006, issue of Science News
Dust to dust In “Not a planet?” (SN: 6/17/06, p. 382), Alycia Weinberger says, “The discovery of a disk around the planetary-mass companion to 2M1207 should be a bit of a relief to planet-formation theorists” because it casts doubt on the object being a planet. But wouldn’t our early solar system have been composed of […]
-
19721
I was sorry to learn Pluto did not qualify as a planet (this article and “Doggone! Pluto gets a planetary demotion,” SN: 9/2/06, p. 149). Pluto has a diameter comparable with the Earth’s moon. The size of our moon relative to Earth might cause any observer to consider Earth and its moon as double planets. […]
-
19720
I have a question concerning this article. It says, “As the sun rotates, its polar regions make a complete circle in about 34 days, compared with the 25 days required by its equator.” I was wondering how it’s possible to have two points on a rotating body take different amounts of time to make a […]
- Humans
Letters from the August 19, 2006, issue of Science News
Aye carumba Math isn’t the only science that makes it into The Simpsons (“Springfield Theory,” SN: 6/10/06, p. 360). In one episode a few years ago, a meteorite landed near Bart. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. Although most people are under the impression that meteorites are extremely hot, they’re not. […]
-
19719
To argue that the concentrations reported in this study are environmentally relevant is misleading. Those concentrations are usually in groundwater, not surface waters. I’ve been involved in the environmental field for almost 20 years and have yet to hear of any fish being caught in groundwater. John HarrisSacramento, Calif. Study coauthor Frank von Hippel notes […]
-
19718
Did the researchers take into account that most arrow points and spearheads would have been in contact with the inside of game, a considerably warmer and more humid environment than the ground where the points were found? Daniel WoitulewiczDetroit, Mich. The material would be inside game—and at a higher temperature than the environment—for only a […]
-
19717
This article says that a magnetic linkage between spinning stars and the charged particles in the dusty disks that surround them slowed the spin of the stars, but says nothing about its effect on the disk. The law of conservation of angular momentum dictates that the angular momentum lost by the star would be transferred […]
-
19716
Your article states, “Yet individuals with Asperger syndrome can still look at a face and assess characteristics such as trustworthiness.” Statements like that are mystifying to me. I think I am about average in social intelligence, but I can’t imagine even thinking of looking at a stranger’s face and deciding whether or not the person […]
- Humans
Letters from the August 12, 2006, issue of Science News
Dates of contention Are the dates quoted in “Stones of Contention: Tiny Homo species tied to ancient tool tradition” (SN: 6/3/06, p. 341) correct? I didn’t think Homo existed as a genus 840,000 years ago. David AdamsBoothwyn, Pa. Fossil finds indicate that the Homo genus originated roughly 2.4 million years ago.—B. Bower No juicy story […]
