LIGHT AND THE BIG BANG“A Beacon from the Big Bang,” Lawrence M. Krauss suggests that, if verified, possible observation of gravitational waves from the early universe could provide evidence for a theory in which the universe underwent a period of explosive expansion, or inflation, shortly after the big bang.
Because so much of the described event occurs within an infinitesimal fraction of a second, would not the early universe's components have to have been moving at many multiples of the speed of light?
RICHARD C. BETANCOURT
How can we see something from the origin of the universe? If light was emitted from that origin, it would travel out from it at the speed of light. Our galaxy and solar system and Earth would evolve billions of years later, meaning the light of the big bang has long since passed us by.
KEN PARKER
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SELLING OF TESTOSTERONE“The Other T Party” [The Science of Health], Carina Storrs was quite thorough but neglected one point relating to how many men in the U.S. have received needless testosterone treatment in recent years: she failed to mention the role of the pharmaceutical companies and their extensive promotion of testosterone directly to consumers. These companies have spent millions of dollars in direct advertising to consumers through television.
NAYVIN GORDON
SIMIAN SECURITY“Know the Jargon” on the “human shield effect” [Advances], Jason G. Goldman reports that a study found that samango monkeys in a South African research center feel safe when a human is behind them. Are these monkeys familiar with humans and thus “know” that humans won't harm them? Or is it that humans “look” safe and that the monkeys “think” they will make a commotion and deflect predators? Or might this attitude exist for some other reason?
TED GRINTHAL
METHANE AND CLIMATE“An Inconvenient Ice,” Lisa Margonelli discusses the potential of methane hydrates, large deposits of methane gas trapped in ice below the seafloor, as both an energy source and a danger in its potential to exacerbate climate change.
It occurs to me that the last Ice Age may have ended when sea levels got low enough to cause massive outpouring of methane from methane hydrates. Are there data that would support this idea?
HARRY WALKER
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INSPIRED BY GARDNER“Let the Games Continue,” by Colm Mulcahy and Dana Richards, celebrates the late Martin Gardner, the longtime author of the Mathematical Games column in .
I was a high school freshman when I discovered Gardner's genius in your publication. From then on, I never missed his column while it ran. His ability to grasp complex scientific and mathematical concepts and recast them to be understandable to the layperson was extraordinary. At his death in 2010, humanity lost a great teacher. Gardner was a true inspiration to me. I encourage you to keep celebrating his life and works every October ad infinitum.
WILLIAM R. PEEBLES, JR.
SAVING THE MONARCH“Saving ‘Bambi,’” by Roger Drouin [Advances], reports on efforts that have been suggested to save the monarch butterfly, whose population has greatly declined, including the creation of more milkweed habitat in the U.S.
As a native plant professional, I can confirm that ecological restoration of native grassland ecosystems that contain milkweed plants is the only method to keep the monarchs from going extinct. At a minimum, between $100 billion and $200 billion is necessary for purchasing land for thousands of milkweed patches, restoring the native ecosystems and performing annual maintenance to keep weeds out.
The monarch must be granted an emergency listing as a threatened species. In addition to buying and restoring the milkweed sites, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and each state in the U.S. that the butterflies migrate through should approve a recovery plan and maps of the needed critical habitat areas. Anything less, and the monarch will go the way of another migrating species that we lost 100 years ago: the passenger pigeon.
CRAIG DREMANN
CLARIFICATION“Test Yourself” box in by Colm Mulcahy and Dana Richards, the wording of the first puzzle, related to lightbulbs, was potentially misleading. In the sentence “then go to the third floor to see the bulb,” the text should have said “check” instead of “see.”
Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.
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