Letters from the November 19, 2005, issue of Science News

It’s not there

“Organic Choice: Pesticides vanish from body after change in diet” (SN: 9/24/05, p. 197), as presented, doesn’t address the statement made in the headline. The article shows only that on days when no pesticides are ingested in food, no pesticides are excreted in urine.

Charles Wyttenbach
Lawrence, Kan.

Sex differences

I am dismayed and offended that your article about the child sex trade in Thailand (“Childhood’s End,” SN: 9/24/05, p. 200) overlooked or avoided the circumstances of the under-12-year-old victims. As much as half of Thailand’s sex tourism exploits preteen and preschool children.

Valerie Nielsen
Temecula, Calif.

Your article inaccurately states, “Thai Buddhists hold that each person’s soul inhabits many physical bodies over time….” Buddha has categorically stated that there is no soul, a concept called anatta in the ancient language in which Buddha’s teachings were recorded.

Kusum Perera
Albany, Calif.