Letters to the Editor
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19689
Math isn’t the only science that makes it into The Simpsons. 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. Bart got it right! K.A. BoriskinBellingham, Mass. ? […]
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19687
Are the dates quoted in this article 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
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19686
It’s big news that poison ivy thrives where there are higher concentrations of carbon dioxide? Did everyone forget elementary school science and plant life’s dependence upon carbon dioxide? Do I advocate buying and driving the most carbon dioxide–emitting vehicle you can find? No. I guess I would just like to see more common sense and […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 3, 2006, issue of Science News
Latitude adjustments “Shafts of snow sculpted by sun” (SN: 4/1/06, p. 206) doesn’t say that penitentes appear only in the Andes, nor does it say in what part of the Andes they appear. Does the formation of penitentes require that the sun be nearly directly overhead for part of the day? Can penitentes form only […]
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19685
When I looked at the photo in this article, I didn’t see a “pentagonal shape” in the swirling water. I saw a sine wave, wrapped around a circle. I was immediately reminded of the Bohr–de Broglie model of electron orbits forming standing waves. Rather than swirling water and glycol forming “unexplained” polygons, isn’t this simply […]
- Humans
Letters from the May 27, 2006, issue of Science News
Dig it or don’t I am rather surprised at all the attention this find is getting (“Out of the Shadows: Not all early mammals were shy and retiring,” SN: 3/18/06, p. 173). Some would think that these mammals caused the downfall of the dinosaurs, but the fossil record suggests a very different scenario. There is […]
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19684
While reading this article, I pondered what would happen if fissionable elements were the core crystals of the nanosqueeze. Would nanoreactors or nanobombs be possible? Victor LawnickiLouisville, Ky. Florian Banhart of the University of Mainz in Germany notes that a nuclear-fission bomb or reactor requires a critical mass of kilograms of fissionable material—way too much […]
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19683
The lenses in our eyes yellow as we age. Does this affect the light-mediated regulation of our body clocks? Could it explain any age-related dysfunction? Mike SpecinerActon, Mass. Indeed, it could. The progressive browning of tissue in the eye can end up “acting like yellow-tinted sunglasses,” says Elizabeth R. Gaillard of Northern Illinois University. Moreover, […]
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19682
While I applaud the work that is looking at the biochemical correlates of aggressive and delinquent behavior, it is important to emphasize that environmental factors still predominate when we are searching for the roots of violence. Although there is no single factor underlying aggressive behavior in children, my own 30-plus years looking into the relationship […]
- Humans
Letters from the May 20, 2006, issue of Science News
Forget dessert In “Got Data? Consuming calcium, dairy doesn’t keep off weight” (SN: 3/11/06, p. 147), you report, “Every 4 years, each volunteer completed a questionnaire about his body weight and dietary habits.” Any dieter knows that it is next to impossible to remember what one has eaten 4 days ago. Any more details on […]
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19681
Unlike some, I find no problem with the idea of hybrids between ancestors of chimpanzees and humans. We have to assume that any speciation event will be protracted. The collection of genes that separate humans from apes would hardly have arisen in a single individual. From my study of dabbling ducks, I have come to […]
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19680
Regarding the “new humanmade version of an insect’s compound eye,” it has been obvious for many years that such structures need not be exceptionally small and need not be extremely like ommatidia to behave like ommatidia. Triads of small light sensors can be arrayed in large, wide, and slightly concave or convex panels and hardwired […]
