Letters to the Editor
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19518
This article mentions several possible triggers for migraines, with a patent foramen ovale being one. There is also the change-in-weather trigger, from which I suffer. All the symptoms mentioned in the article could cause a fairly sudden change in blood pressure. A weather-related change in barometric pressure might have the same effect. I wonder if […]
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19517
This article overlooks an immeasurable long-term cost of whole-body computed tomography scans: the potential cancers induced by high-dose radiation. Aggressive marketing of CT scans without full disclosure of the risk is unethical and should be illegal. Nancy EvansSan Francisco, Calif.
- Humans
Letters from the February 12, 2005, issue of Science News
Short end of the chromosome Since “women with chronically ill children generally reported more stress” and since “there was a very striking connection between stress and telomere length” (“Stressed to Death: Mental tension ages cells,” SN: 12/4/04, p. 355), isn’t it probable that there is a strong connection between telomere length and becoming the parent […]
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19516
When I read of the Hubble Space Telescope–repair controversy (“People, Not Robots: Panel favors shuttle mission to Hubble,” SN: 12/18&25/04, p. 388; and this article), this question comes to mind: Why can’t an unmanned, powered vehicle latch on to Hubble and fly it to the International Space Station, where it could be repaired by the […]
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19515
On reading about the interesting research on droplets in this article, I noticed that the two droplets shown in the photos at the moment of first contact have different shapes. In air at normal pressure, the droplet has the characteristic hamburger-bun shape. In contrast, the droplet at reduced pressure is spherical, or nearly so. Can […]
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19514
The work relating differences in intelligence scores to the “honing of spatial sensibilities” in Chinese readers sounds worthy of continued study. J. Philippe Rushton’s studies, on the other hand, sound fallacious. His claim that Chinese children adopted by U.S. parents also tend to score higher ignores the fact that such families tend overwhelmingly to be […]
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19513
Many years ago, I heard about one clever wind-energy–storage system. A fellow in Pennsylvania purchased a surplus railroad tank car and buried it on his farm. A nearby windmill-powered compressor pumped air into the tank, which could store an enormous amount of compressed air. The fellow used it to power air tools in his carpenter […]
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19512
Your article reminded me that taking a bird’s song and transposing it down four octaves makes it sound like a whale’s song. The opposite is also true. To hear this, go to http://www.mind.net/music/birdwhaleDemo.mp3. Todd BartonAshland, Ore. The article would imply that the only anomaly to the theory that mass equates to longevity is that large-dog […]
- Humans
Letters from the February 5, 2005, issue of Science News
Not measuring up I love Science News. Now and then, however, you write in terms that aren’t understandable to the average reader. I refer in particular to “Snow Blow: Image of Mount Everest from orbit captures enormous plume” (SN: 12/4/04, p. 358). It states that “weather models suggest winds atop the peak exceeded 50 meters […]
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19511
A glaring omission in this article is the obvious impact that direct marketing of prescription medications to the general public, mostly via television, has had in swelling the number of people taking superfluous medications. Stephen J. LevineRiver Edge, N.J.
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19510
In this article you failed to mention a possibly important factor for the introduction of agriculture into Europe, namely, the creation of the Black Sea from a large freshwater lake at the end of the last ice age. Could this not have forced the early farmers westward after they had lost so much of their […]
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19509
According to your article, exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus in early life produces only flu-like symptoms but exposure at adolescence or later often results in mononucleosis, which is a possible precursor of multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome. It seems to me that much human misery could be eliminated by developing a […]
