Letters to the Editor
-
19494
Your article doesn’t state whether the people in the study were type 1 (insulin-dependent) or type 2 diabetics. As a long-time subscriber to Science News, I would appreciate it if you would try to state whether it is type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, or both, in future articles. Carol Linn MillerNorman, Okla. The […]
-
19493
It seems interesting that undersea flows have at least one characteristic different from rivers: “While river floods on land can create natural levees a few meters tall, the levees formed by [undersea] turbidity currents can grow up to 100 m[eters] high.” There are several sites on Mars where channels with loops can be seen. Although […]
- Humans
Letters from the December 18 & 25, 2004, issue of Science News
Think fast “Car deaths rise days after terror attacks” (SN: 10/9/04, p. 237: Car deaths rise days after terror attacks) mentions that the traffic volume was reduced following the attacks, yet fails to mention another likely factor in the increased deaths: Less traffic usually results in higher average speeds. Del DietrichSan Jose, Calif. Our sun, […]
-
19492
When I read of the Hubble Space Telescope–repair controversy (this article and “Lean Times: Proposed budget keeps science spending slim,” SN: 2/12/05, p. 102), 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 station’s […]
-
19491
Reading this article, I puzzled over the statement that “domestication diverges from a standard model of evolution. . . .” Darwin’s primary evidence for The Origin of Species included observations of domesticated pigeons and other species, and even Mendel worked with garden peas. Yet hybridization and artificial selection have been considered evil or dirty for […]
- Humans
Letters from the December 11, 2004, issue of Science News
Mover Earth I would have thought that it is more likely that Earth’s hum creates the weather patterns (“Humming Along: Ocean waves may cause global seismic noise,” SN: 10/2/04, p. 212: Humming Along: Ocean waves may cause global seismic noise) than the other way around. Judy AngelGlasgow, Scotland Nuclear fallout “Hurrying a nuclear identity switch” […]
-
19490
I was surprised to read in this article the explanation, “Those low-pressure swirls create suction that pulls the insect upward.” There is no physical force known as “suction.” As the article correctly states, the leading-edge wing vortices create a low-pressure zone above the wings, and the higher-pressure air under the insect’s wings pushes the insect […]
- Humans
Letters from the December 4, 2004, issue of Science News
Shouting about decaf? As a decaf drinker, I found myself shouting, “What about caffeine”?” as I read “Coffee’s curious heart effects” (SN: 10/2/04, p. 222: Coffee’s curious heart effects). How can any report not, at least, mention its involvement or lack thereof? Greg TulloRaleigh, N.C. Researcher Pertti Happonen suspects that caffeine was responsible for the […]
-
19489
Since “women with chronically ill children generally reported more stress” and since “there was a very striking connection between stress and telomere length,” isn’t it probable that there is a strong connection between telomere length and becoming the parent of a chronically ill child? I would be interested to learn whether the connection between stress […]
-
19488
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 (the article above). It states that “weather models suggest winds atop the peak exceeded 50 meters per second.” I dare say that to 99 percent of your readers, like myself, that’s […]
-
19487
Wasn’t Einstein so irritated at the thought of randomness in the universe that he said, “God does not play dice with the universe”? Your article seemed to suggest that Einstein endorsed quantum physics, which I was under the impression he didn’t. Andrew AlexanderToronto, Ont. Einstein did loathe the idea that physical processes could be random. […]
-
19486
In this article, it strikes me as strange to project the cost of collecting DNA samples from the “estimated 10 million animal species” on Earth when at least 90 percent of that probable fauna has yet to be discovered and, at current extinction rates, probably never will be. Kevin LumneyPorter Township, Ohio
