Letters to the Editor
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19473
In this article you wondered, “Should gene enhancement, or doping, be permissible for athletes attempting to improve their performance?” Sure, but in separate competitions. Athletes would register as either “doped” or “clean.” The problem with doping is not the doping, it’s the cheating. Sam CoxLoveland, Colo.
- Humans
Letters from the October 23, 2004, issue of Science News
Hand to mouth “Skin proves poor portal for arsenic in treated wood” (SN: 7/24/04, p. 62: Skin proves poor portal for arsenic in treated wood) shouldn’t make parents any less wary of allowing their children to come in contact with the chromated-copper arsenate wood structures. What children pick up on their hands from a deck […]
- Humans
Letters from the October 16, 2004, issue of Science News
Hubble grumble The cover type “Farewell to Hubble?” (“End of the Line for Hubble?” SN: 7/24/04, p. 56: End of the Line for Hubble?) makes me wonder why we haven’t seen the headline “Farewell to the Current NASA Administrator?” The only reason I have heard for the cancellation of the planned servicing mission is “it’s […]
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19472
Because the purpose of wind machines is to take energy out of the wind, it is counterintuitive to find the wind’s average velocity increases inside the wind farm. This is not what I learned in Aerodynamics I. Some clarification, please. John ToomayCarlsbad, Calif. Remember boundary layers. The wind speed at windmill level is higher than […]
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19471
My response as an educator to much of the outrageous science depicted in so many of the recent blockbuster hits is very different from that of many of the scientists quoted in your article. The films provide a wonderful source of science projects that students actually relish. The more outrageous the science, the greater they […]
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19470
I found your two articles on vitamin D very interesting. My question now is whether the rays received in a tanning bed can cause the skin to manufacture vitamin D. Wendy WadeKalamazoo, Mich. Ultraviolet–B radiation triggers the skin to produce vitamin D, whether those rays come from the sun or a lamp. However, not all […]
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19469
This article dealt with the alteration of the nuclear decay rate of beryllium-7. I believe you may have misinterpreted the researchers to be saying they had found “the largest such artificial hastening of an atom’s decay rate ever observed.” Whereas you report the authors observing a 0.83 percent change, I published a paper in Physical […]
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19468
This article 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.
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19467
I found both your articles on vitamin D very interesting. My question now is whether the rays received in a tanning bed can cause the skin to manufacture vitamin D. Wendy WadeKalamazoo, Mich. Ultraviolet–B radiation triggers the skin to produce vitamin D, whether those rays come from the sun or a lamp. However, not all […]
- Humans
Letters from the October 2, 2004, issue of Science News
On a diet While heart disease victim Jody Gorran’s lawsuit against the Atkins empire will be decided in court (“Counting Carbs,” SN: 7/17/04, p. 40: Counting Carbs), the deadlier battle is being waged in the research laboratory. Several studies confirm that low-carbohydrate diets cause marked cholesterol elevations for many individuals. In contrast, a vegetarian diet […]
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19466
I would have thought that it is more likely that Earth’s hum creates the weather patterns than the other way around. Judy AngelGlasgow, Scotland
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19465
As a decaf drinker, I found myself shouting, “What about caffeine”?” as I read your article. 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 effects seen in his study, but since Finns don’t drink much decaf, he […]
