Letters to the Editor
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19434
I was surprised to find no mention of Linus Pauling’s theory of anesthesia in this article. In 1961, Pauling provided detailed arguments that interactions between anesthetic agents and water, rather than lipids, form hydrate microcrystals in the brain that entrap side chains of proteins and interfere with electrical oscillations. Stephen Lawson Linus Pauling Institute Corvallis, […]
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19433
I don’t think anyone should be surprised that squirrels have figured out how to say “nyah, nyah” to rattlesnakes. After all, it’s what they’ve been saying to cats, dogs, and bird-feeder owning humans for years. R. Kelly WagnerAustin, Texas
- Humans
Letters from the June 26, 2004, issue of Science News
Theory and practice Like physicists, mathematicians have always been divided into theorists and experimentalists (“Math Lab: Computer experiments are transforming mathematics,” SN: 4/24/04, p. 266: Math Lab). And, as with the physicists, the two groups of mathematicians have not gotten along very well. Still, in physics, there has always been an understanding that both groups […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 19, 2004, issue of Science News
Scan or scam? Using laser technology that has an apparent resolution of only about half a centimeter is somewhat laughable (“Laser scanners map rock art,” SN: 4/3/04, p. 222: Laser scanners map rock art). I also wondered whether the “fresh coat of desert varnish” was an April fool joke. Actually, I really look forward to […]
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19432
Does it really take a team of scientists running computer simulations to come up with the common sense that the greater the common surface area of two objects that touch, the more efficient the stacking? The closer objects are to being flat, the more efficiently they will stack. Hence ellipses will, of course, stack more […]
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19431
Horvath and Toffel’s comparison of the environmental impacts of the paper versus the electronic editions of the New York Times is a bit misleading. A personal digital assistant isn’t good for advertising or newspaper browsing. In other words, the PDA users aren’t getting a comparable product. Still, the day is probably not too far off […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 12, 2004, issue of Science News
Go with the flow In “Tales of the Undammed: Removing barriers doesn’t automatically restore river health” (SN: 4/10/04, p. 235: Tales of the Undammed), the photo comparison of the dam site is deceptive because the two photos of the same spot appear to have been taken during different seasons. Hence, the lower photo shows a […]
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19430
In the article, an agronomist claims that farmers “typically apply more fertilizer than their crops need” as an explanation for increased pollution in coastal waters. I don’t know any farmers who risk their products in the way suggested here. An examination of home lawn care would point to a much bigger problem. Mary HeinrichtCulpepper, Va. […]
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19429
Evidently, death waits for no one, except in Belgium. Around 40 years ago, Belgian doctors went on strike for 3 months. If I remember correctly, their explanation for the fact that the death rate dropped during this period was that their patients hung on until the doctors were back at work! Martin CraggCheshire, England
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19428
The article on nanotubes as light sources was frustratingly sketchy. Any photometric laboratory with a wattmeter could compare the nanotube unit to another light source in a few minutes. It is tempting to think that the heating effect, which must be close to that from a blackbody radiator, and the “electronic effect,” which is undoubtedly […]
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19427
When cyanobacteria and plants transfer electrons photosynthetically, light is absorbed not by their photosynthetic proteins but by chlorophylls. Some of these proteins indeed participate in electron flow, but they are not plant photoreceptors. How then, do they “retain their function” and “absorb photons” in the fabricated solar cell described? Cleon RossVictor, Idaho The materials that […]
- Humans
Letters from the June 5, 2004, issue of Science News
Blackened reputation Again, humans are implicated in the promotion and distribution of our own misery (“Medieval cure-all may actually have spread disease,” SN: 4/3/04, p. 222: Medieval cure-all may actually have spread disease). However, if bitumen was wrongly credited with darkening the skin of mummified remains, what caused it? Robert FizekNewton, Mass. The coating on […]
