Letters to the Editor
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19594
There was a line or two in this article about carnations with an aroma of Earl Grey tea or fruit loops. Well, here in the Sonoran Desert, we have wildflowers that smell like sweaty gym socks, grape Kool-Aid, or even rotting meat. When I was helping edit a desert-wildflower book years ago, I found the […]
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19593
I am dismayed and offended that you overlooked or avoided the circumstances of the under-12-year-old victims in this article. As much as half of Thailand’s sex tourism exploits preteen and preschool children. Valerie NielsenTemecula, Calif. Your article inaccurately states, “Thai Buddhists hold that each person’s soul inhabits many physical bodies over time….” Buddha has categorically […]
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19592
The pendular running gait described in this article as one of the most efficient bipedal gaits looks remarkably like the way eyewitnesses claim Bigfoot creatures move. In a Bigfoot hoax, one might use a gait that is unhuman but energy efficient, as the costume would be rather heavy. On the other hand, since such a […]
- Humans
Letters from the September 17, 2005, issue of Science News
Just Feynman A lot of people ask how someone like Richard Feynman, who played the bongo drums, loved practical jokes, and was an amateur safecracker and a bon vivant, could also win a Nobel Prize in Physics (“Dr. Feynman’s Doodles: How one scientist’s simple sketches transformed physics,” SN: 7/16/05, p. 40). Actually, all of Feynman’s […]
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19591
Just curious about the wording in the first paragraph of this article: “Around 36,000 years ago, Neandertals and people lived side by side ….” Were not the Neandertals “people,” and isn’t it true that Neandertals and Cro-Magnons were both Homo sapiens? John Hanson MitchellLincoln, Mass. This is one of the biggest debates in paleoanthropology. Many […]
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19590
Biologist Paul Denny indicates in this article that if the test of the saliva shows that the young patient is at high risk for developing cavities, then extra precautions could be taken such as sealants and fluoride treatments. As a practicing dentist, I wish to point out that both of those procedures are routine with […]
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19589
I have spent the past 30 years as a geoscientist studying the history of Earth and take great exception to a statement in the article: “Scientists are divided on whether climate change, induced by industrial and automotive release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, is driving these statistics.” This sentence states that there would […]
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19588
In this article the mirror image isn’t really a perfect match, is it? It doesn’t itself secrete anything. Also, could the mirror be made to slowly withdraw, thus pulling the fish image away from the real fish in a simulated retreat? Let’s see then if there are any victory-induced hormones released. W. Gregory StewartLos Angeles, […]
- Humans
Letters from the September 10, 2005, issue of Science News
Pennies in heaven? Why slam a copper impactor into Comet Tempel 1 (“A Grand Slam: In a winning move, NASA probe burrows into a comet,” SN: 7/9/05, p. 22)? Wouldn’t copper vapor contaminate the spray? Why not a high-temperature ceramic? P.M. deLaubenfelsCorvallis, Ore. According to Casey Lisse of the Deep Impact team, copper was chosen […]
- Humans
Letters from the September 3, 2005, issue of Science News
Pick of the crop “Honey, We Shrank the Snow Lotus: Picking big plants reduces species’ height” (SN: 7/9/05, p. 20) suggests that the change is an evolutionary process. However, this and the other examples given are all more selective breeding than natural selection. In this case, organisms with undesirable characteristics (smaller size) are overrepresented during […]
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19587
The research into placebos’ pain relief in this article should probably be tied in with the recent work utilizing hypnotism for pain relief. It may well be that the two turn on the same centers of the brain. C. Norman WinningstadNewport, Ore.
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19586
I note that pleasure activates the neurobiological response that fuels addictive behavior. It has long been a tenet of the 12-step programs that there is no pleasure greater than to use one’s talents to help others similarly afflicted. Perhaps we shouldn’t discount the neurological effect of that activity. Betsy (last name withheld) It’s a fact […]
