Letters to the Editor
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19381
The genetic link from obesity to macrophage production to inflammation to diseases in this article seems convincing. On an ecological scale, inflammation is an acute response to environmental insult, while fat is a chronic response, through its role in sequestering toxins. Perhaps the new research reveals a genetic program to arm the body’s defenses both […]
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19380
In answer to this article, infections elevate activity of the immune system, so they might indirectly suppress tumors of all kinds. If so, antibiotics could increase the incidence of cancer by reducing the duration and degree of infection. The widespread practice of sterilizing our home and work environments could have a similar effect. Edward P. […]
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19379
Your article says that tsunamis “disrupt winds,” leading to the appearance of dark bands. I propose that upwelling above the crests creates a new surface initially unaffected by the wind and therefore slick. Such bands of slick water formed by tides are a common sight in Puget Sound. Harry HigginsSeattle, Wash.
- Humans
Letters from the Feb. 21, 2004, issue of Science News
Thin skin I find the language of “Thin Skin” (SN: 1/3/04, p.11: Thin Skin) to be judgmental and unscientific. For example, “desert pavement and their biota are wounded by human activity” is neither artistic nor scientific. Such narrow, biased views of ecology have no place in a scientific journal. Boone MoraGarden Valley, Calif. Out with […]
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19247
In this article, I read that an orb of a given size, when slightly flattened, will pack more densely than when perfectly round. No kidding? Do you suppose if we were to crush cars into little cubes we could hurl more into a landfill than we could just by driving them over a cliff? What […]
- Humans
Letters from the Feb. 14, 2004, issue of Science News
Revealing words “Bookish Math: Statistical tests are unraveling knotty literary mysteries” (SN: 12/20&27/03, p. 392: Bookish Math) skipped one of the most significant methods for analyzing text for authorship. On March 11, 1887, Thomas Corwin Mendenhall reported in Science a straightforward method of plotting word length versus frequency. The beauty of this method is that […]
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19246
This article details an advance in human-cloning efforts. The researchers charging into this field think that we should pass laws to keep others from abusing their research. Ha! Do they really think they can keep this genie in a bottle? If this keeps up, it won’t be long before people are cloning themselves and maybe […]
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19245
Your article refers to a virus as a “microbe.” I think of a virus more as a seed or spore. What definition is Science News using for the word? Neil MurphyWalnut Creek, Calif. Medical dictionaries differ in defining viruses as microbes . Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition ( 2003, Merriam-Webster ) says that viruses are […]
- Humans
Letters from the Feb. 7, 2004, issue of Science News.
Warm topic I was fascinated by the article on heat production in flowers (“Warm-Blooded Plants?” SN: 12/13/03, p. 379: Warm-Blooded Plants?). It speculated on the evolutionary origins of such thermogenesis and observed how it predominates in ancient lineages of flowering plants like magnolias and water lilies. But thermogenesis goes back much farther than this, for […]
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19300
Regarding this article, did the researchers image the brains of disabled people who know the meaning of a verb but can’t perform the action, or of people without any disabilities who know the meaning of a verb such as “scull” but have never performed the action? It seems that without the above-mentioned types of tests, […]
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19378
The thought that anyone, Eskimo or otherwise, would willingly kill a member of an endangered species that may have been swimming when George Washington was still alive makes me sick at heart. Honoring one’s ancestors could surely be achieved by going out in a whaleboat, engaging in a mock hunt, and showing true reverence for […]
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19299
This article could leave the impression that the evolutionary significant unit (ESU) is the de facto concept employed for all listing decisions under the Endangered Species Act. In fact, the ESU has not been used in the vast majority of recent listing decisions under the act. Nor should it be. The act allows the National […]
