Letters from the March 17, 2007, issue of Science News
By Science News
Disputable thesis
“Counterintuitive Toxicity: Increasingly, scientists are finding that they can’t predict a poison’s low-dose effects” (SN: 1/20/07, p. 40) took a wrong turn into Hormesis Swamp. The hormesis thesis has been thoroughly discredited by all major radiation organizations and professional societies, and its past conferences have been sponsored by tobacco companies and the U.S. Air Force.
Lynn Howard Ehrle
Plymouth, Mich.
Fat or fit city?
Regarding “Weighing In on City Planning: Could smart urban design keep people fit and trim?” (SN: 1/20/07, p. 43), there are also suspected connections between high-impedance commuting and blood pressure, commuting and unhealthy exposure to air pollution, and commuting and back problems and anxiety. Combined with the effects of auto emissions on global warming, one would think that national debates on sprawl and mass transit are long overdue.