WE RECENTLY reported on the confusion experienced by a reader in Chicago when told that one applicator of her Estrace vaginal cream should be applied 鈥減er vagina every week鈥� (5 April). Now Mark Hardy tells us of a broadcast in the Chicago area about a test that 鈥渉elps tell time on a woman鈥檚 biological clock鈥�. The test, says the report, 鈥渕easures three hormones closely associated with the number of eggs in a woman鈥檚 ovaries. 杏吧原创s have come up with a formula to analyse the results. When combining it with factors like age and oestrogen levels, they can determine how many viable ovaries a woman has.鈥�
What is it about Chicago that has this multiplication effect on women鈥檚 body parts?
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SEVERAL readers have admonished us for being unduly harsh on the US patent examiner who we said 鈥渁ccepted鈥� the 鈥淲alking through walls training system鈥� patent filing (3 May). They point out that the document we referred to is only a patent application, not a granted patent.
In fact, this application failed. As reader Peter Smith notes, Kathleen Mosser, the patent examiner, objected that she could not grant a patent on the grounds that 鈥渢he principle of walking through walls is generally considered within the scientific community to be unattainable or speculative at best鈥�.
She also pointed out that the claimed method of training, which involves stepping on a sheet marked with footprints in time with an audible cue, has been widely used in dance schools since the 1880s 鈥� 鈥渁lbeit with a different aim鈥�.
We can only apologise to Mosser and agree with Smith that she 鈥渟eems to be doing everything right in this case鈥�.
You can view the full patent file history by entering the publication number 2006-0014125 at .
MANY readers will have received a disconcerting spam from entitled 鈥淧ictures of the Miraculous Effects of Ionized Alkaline Water鈥�. The photographs of the supposed beneficial effects of this panacea for diseases like cancer and diabetes are often fairly gruesome, and Feedback finds it hard to believe the claims apparently being made.
With some, though, it is impossible to be sure what exactly is being claimed.
Doug Revell draws our attention, for example, to this: 鈥淎ctive oxygen has two faces of beneficial role to resolve foreign substances like bacteria to invade into body in leucocyte but of extra active oxygen鈥檚 destroying tissues & cells on the contrary.鈥� Revell says he is uncertain what action to take in response to this, and we are too.
We are also a little sceptical about one of the claims made in the intro: 鈥淎lkaline water has been described as 鈥楾he Most Important Advance in Health Care Since Alexander Fleming鈥檚 Discovery of Penicillin鈥� by Dr William Kelly and as 鈥楳iracle Water鈥� by the Japanese.鈥�
Which Japanese, exactly? All of them? Including the emperor?
THE free paperback that Ingrid Eisenstadter received in the mail was entitled ProEvo, Guideline for an Age of Joy and was written by someone called Tomotom.
The preface notes that the book 鈥渟ets forth a new view of the world鈥� and this claim is quickly confirmed. Page 1 of the text states that: 鈥淭he Earth is situated approximately 250,000 trillion kilometers, or 27,000 light years, northwest of the center of the Milky Way.鈥�
Tomotom was right, says Eisenstadter. 鈥淚 have shared this insight with my friends, and it has filled us with joy.鈥�
USEFUL advice for train passengers in Australia: David Bruce鈥檚 daughter Sarah recently sent him the following text message: 鈥淚 just heard this over the PA at Sydney Central Station: 鈥楢ttention passengers! For your convenience, please arrive at the station before your train is scheduled to depart鈥�.鈥�
鈥淭here are three posting boxes next to the 鈥淓xpress鈥� box at the general post office in Canberra, Australia, Howard Stagg reports. Each of them is labelled 鈥淎ll other mail鈥濃��
MEANWHILE, Ray Norris tells us that passengers leaving Australia via the international terminal at Sydney airport are confronted by a notice at the security gate saying: 鈥淟aptop computers are to be removed from carry cases and presented in two separate pieces at the X-ray machine.鈥�
Norris wonders whether the electronics store in the departure lounge does a roaring trade in laptop repairs.
FINALLY, perhaps Anthony Zee thinks scientific papers are too formal and he wants to start a new trend, or perhaps he was was just having a bad day when he wrote his abstract for 鈥淕ravity and its mysteries: some thoughts and speculations鈥� on the physics preprint site at .
The full text of his abstract is: 鈥淚 gave a rambling talk about gravity and its many mysteries at Chen-Ning Yang鈥檚 85th birthday celebration held in November 2007. I don鈥檛 have any answers.鈥�