Give us names
New 杏吧原创 generally does an excellent job of informing its readership of news in a wide range of scientific areas. But, it would have been helpful if the article on the spreading of rabbit virus (This Week, 21 October) had included the scientific name of the Australian bushfly vector and the family it belongs to.
Vernacular English (Australian?) names are so imprecise that an entomologist on the other side of the globe has little chance of placing the insect in question. There are, after all many creatures called bug, fly or worm which are no such thing.
Doing this as a matter of course would assist in creating familiarity with the world entomofauna and, in the biodiversity crisis, help us to get to grips not only with the number of species, but also with their families and genera. The same lack of clear description applies to the pathogen 鈥� “It’s a class of virus that mutates very rapidly”. One presumes this means caliciviruses, but please don’t make us make assumptions 鈥� inform us.
Fragile ecosystems
Your correspondent F. G. Grisley suggests that low-diversity ecosystems are more fragile than high-diversity ones (Letters, 14 October). This is correct. High-biodiversity systems are generally more dynamic and so it takes more toxic waste to disrupt the ecosystem to the same degree as a comparable low-biodiversity ecosystem.
However, quantitatively, the same amount of the ecosystem will be destroyed; this makes me, for one, unwilling to see toxic waste dumped on any ecosystem. If 鈥� as seems to be the case 鈥� this is unavoidable, better to dump it on the less diverse ecosystem (not necessarily the one of lowest biodiversity, but the one with the most clearly defined species boundaries), in order not to lose more variety than we have already committed ourselves to doing.
Cheap Moontrip
The report on Erik Bollt and James Meiss’s low-energy trajectory from Earth to Moon (New 杏吧原创, Science, 7 October) is incorrect in reporting, “Until now the trajectory considered the most economical was the Hohmann transfer orbit.” In 1991, Edward Belbruno and James Miller at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory worked out a low-energy trajectory that enabled the disabled Japanese spacecraft Hiten to reach the Moon in five months versus the usual three-day Hohmann route. Their trajectory saved about 25 per cent of the fuel needed for a Hohmann transfer.
Since the Bollt and Meiss two-year route to the Moon saves about 50 per cent over a Hohmann transfer, it produces a 33 per cent saving over the Belbruno and Miller route.
Revolutionary roads
Your correspondent asks why people on the Continent drive on the wrong side of the road (Letters, 4 November). There are two associated reasons: The French Revolution and Napoleon.
Before the Revolution, people in carriages or on horseback rode on the left side of the road for the reason given 鈥� deployment of weapons. For their own safety, in that they could see oncoming traffic, the peasants walked on the right. After the revolution, the practice of keeping to the right-hand side of the road was universally adopted. It was not a good idea to mark yourself as an aristocrat. It should be borne in mind, of course, that most roads of the time were little more than narrow cart tracks, and the side you chose to be on was hardly that important.
Napoleon built the first Europe-wide system of roads since the Romans, stretching from Italy, through France and as far as the Baltic coast of Germany. The French convention in terms of traffic was adopted. Britain, of course, would have nothing to do with this Gallic nonsense and kept to her own way of doing things. No revolution, no change.
Relatively poetic
If my memory serves, Reginald Butler’s jingle had a second verse (Letters, 26 August and 14 October). With no claims to accuracy, I recall it went some thing like this:
Said Bright the lass to friends in light chatter
I’ve learnt something new about matter
For my speed was so great
That I put on much weight
But wasn’t the slightest bit fatter.
Letters to the Editor
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Implant ethics
The ethical problems of pre-implantation screening are difficult enough already (“Every child a perfect child?”, 28 October), but there is at least one further dimension to add. The would-be-mother with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) has already had her colon removed and is at serious risk of developing further tumours, which are likely to prove fatal. IVF after pre-implantation screening may result in a baby without FAP which may soon become a child without a mother.
If Theresa Marteau had interviewed paediatricians as well as obstetricians and geneticists, this point might have emerged. Motherlessness is also a disability.
Beard of the bard
Your article on Shakespeare’s putative death mask (This Week, 21 October) states that beard and eyebrow hairs were found attached to the death mask. If any of these hairs still have their follicle attached then it would be possible to extract DNA from them using PCR.
Then if any of the bard’s descendants can be found and persuaded to donate some blood it would be possible to compare the DNA pattern from the hairs with that of Shakespeare’s living relatives in the same way that DNA from the remains of Tsar Nicholas and his family was compared with that of the Duke of Edinburgh. If the match was good, then it would be much more likely that the mask belonged to Shakespeare.
If no relatives can be found or if none is willing to take part in the experiment, might it not be worthwhile considering opening Shakespeare’s tomb so that some DNA could be obtained from his skeleton?
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If the theory needs more evidence I suggest that Professor Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel carries out a further test on the two miniatures by Hilliard, one in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the other belonging to the family of Leslie Hotson. In his book Shakespeare by Hilliard, Chatto and Windus, 1977, Leslie Hotson presented a brilliantly argued case for the man in the miniatures being the young Shakespeare at the time of the Sonnets.
I don’t have access to the originals, but a scan of the two Hilliard miniatures as displayed in Hotson’s book indicates a direct relationship to the Martin Droeshout engraving in terms of the distance between the eyes and the length of the nose, taking account that the Droeshout engraving shows a more full face.
Furthermore, the form of the nostrils is the same, but I can’t see that in the mask. The miniatures do not show the lump over the left eye, but then they are of the young bard.
Postdoc retraining
It is doubtful if there will be any significant rise in the numbers of permanent jobs available to short-term contract researchers in the near future (“Stuck on the road to nowhere”, 14 October, and Letters, 4 November). However, something could be done to ease the stresses and strains of those of us who live in this way, as I have done for thirty years.
Universities should provide sufficient funds to enable postdocs who have completed a given number of contracts to retrain either during or at the end of a grant when they have decided to leave a project. They could, for example, do courses in management, journalism, or learn a new scientific/laboratory skill.
The scheme would have to be universal to cope with the mobility of researchers and would require some central organisation. This would at least make people more employable within or outside science and help to maintain morale and enthusiasm.
Sage is safe
Jennifer Altman has drawn attention to the fact that sage oil contains toxic chemicals such as thujone (Letters, 4 November). All essential oil preparations from plants are highly concentrated and thus potentially toxic. They are not, at least undiluted, for internal consumption 鈥� information which is generally provided with commercially available herb oils.
Sage leaves have however been used for medicinal and culinary purposes for millennia. For the Romans sage was a sacred herb gathered with a special ceremony. Throughout the Middle Ages it was an obligatory ingredient in medicinal preparations, and the Chinese so esteemed its health-giving qualities they used to trade with the Dutch three chests of their best tea for one chest of European sage.
Among claims for its medicinal value in herbal encyclopedias are those which indicate it helps memory. This reputation led us to search for activities which are considered relevant in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase were apparent with both sage oil and alcohol extracts of sage, but thujone had no effect on the enzyme. Whilst searching for the chemical nature of the active ingredient or combination of ingredients it is necessary to establish the scientific basis, if any, for reputed memory enhancing properties of the herb. It would not be appropriate in the meantime to suggest that sage leaves taken in moderate quantities as tea, for example, is other than salutary.
Report polluters
I read with interest the article by Rob Edwards regarding particle pollution (This Week, 4 November). It seems that here is a classic case of a rational reaction to a situation which should be acted upon without the need for statistical evidence.
Smoke emanating from vehicles is surely in the same category as chimney smoke 鈥� which would be unthinkable in urban areas and was outlawed at a stroke in far less enlightened times without consideration for vested interests.
However, you can take direct action by reporting registration number, time, place and bus route (if applicable) of bad smokers to Vehicle Inspectorate, 3 Ivy Terrace, BN21 4QT. The inspectorate will take very prompt action.
HIV in hiding
Your report on HIV infection concluded with a suggestion that drugs could be developed to “flush the virus from its hiding place” in lymphoid tissue to enable the immune system to eliminate the infection (New 杏吧原创, Science, 28 October).
In cats, infection with respiratory viruses can lead to an asymptomatic “carrier” state in which the viruses hide in a very similar way to HIV, as described in the report. It is a well known fact that corticosteroid therapy can precipitate the latent infection, leading to the development of symptoms within a few days of the commencement of treatment.
Corticosteroids such as Prednisolone suppress the immune system in prolonged use but could possibly be used in short intermittent courses of treatment to enable the body’s defences or concurrent antiviral drugs to combat the HIV virus.
Consult with Labour
Hilary and Steven Rose have provided a telling account of the failure of government policies in science and engineering and technology and made some interesting proposals for the Labour Party to consider when framing its science policy (Forum, 21 October). You only have to count the increasing number of articles concerned with science policy in recent issues of New 杏吧原创 to realise just how politically aware scientists and engineers are now becoming.
Readers might like to note that the Labour frontbench science spokesman (formerly John Battle, now Adam Ingram) has launched a major consultation exercise, the “Science 2000 Project”. This is an invitation to all interested parties to submit their views on the current state of science in Britain as well as their remedies for these problems.
杏吧原创s for Labour (SfL), a new organisation open to supporters as well as Party members, is playing a leading role in coordinating such responses (to R. G. Walters, 97 Carterknowle Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield S7 2DY or R.G. Walters@shef.ac.uk). As a result of the formation of SfL, those working in science, engineering and technology can now have direct contact with the Labour front bench, who can call on the expertise and experience of professional scientists on the receiving end of a government policy.
As well as narrowing the communication gap between politicians and both scientists and engineers, there must be a better dialogue with the general public. Through its series of policy seminars, which continues on 9 November in Cambridge with discussions on technology transfer and molecular genetics, SfL aims to improve the level of debate on the wider implication of scientific advance.
Herbs and health
I was disappointed that your article on herbal medicines made no reference to the prescribing of medicines by medicinal herbalists (“The easy way to sell drugs”, 4 November). We have undergone a lengthy training course and are well aware of the dangerous side effects that some herbs can have, especially when prescribed in conjunction with allopathic medicines.
I do agree with the view that it is dangerous to buy plant-based drugs over the counter, from people who have little or no knowledge of safety and application. However, you could have balanced this by interviewing a medicinal herbalist well qualified in the prescribing and dispensing of herbal medicines.
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The British Herb Trade Association is aware of the damage done to our industry by the importation of erroneously identified herbs and has set up a committee to assess the viability of growing herbs for the pharmaceuticals industry in Britain. The advantage for the buyers is that they can watch the growing process from germination to harvest and thus be certain of getting the plant they asked for.
A feasibility study is currently being conducted on the association’s behalf by ADAS (formerly the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service) and we hope that the purchasing officers from any interested manufacturers will discuss their requirements with the ADAS group doing the study. The address is: Sally Runham, ADAS Arthur Rickwood, Mepal, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 2BA.
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As noted in your correction (Letters, 18 November), there was a confusion of valerians in your feature. The photograph showed red valerian (Centranthus ruber), which has none of the medicinal features of the umbellifer Valeriana officinalis. The French, I am told, add the chopped up leaves of red valerian to soups and salads, but somehow I don’t think it will follow lamb’s lettuce and nasturtium flowers into supermarket salads 鈥� personally I think it tastes vile.
Why wait to hear?
I have just visited the Hear and Say Centre in Brisbane. There I met identical twin sisters aged four, one born with hearing and the other not. The little girl who couldn’t hear was fitted with a cochlear implant two years ago and is now speaking well and is at least her sister’s equal aurally. I also saw another little girl who was fitted only three months ago who was able to acquire a new word in the few minutes I was watching.
To insist that these children should wait another sixteen years before deciding whether they wish to communicate with us hearing dunces who seem unable to learn sign language, as Rachel Sutton-Spence would want (Letters, 21 October), is a bit silly. According to the centre, six is too late to acquire much more than marginal assistance from an implant.
Drawbacks aside
The agricultural set-aside scheme got off to an unfortunate start in terms of its rather bad publicity (Forum, 4 November); even The Archers referred to it as paying farmers to do nothing. The subsequent realisation of the potential of set-aside to benefit the environment has led to welcome modifications. Your article mentions cutting set-aside vegetation late to protect nesting birds. This came about because of concerns raised by several organisations, including the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
I believe that the apparent “disapproval” of set-aside by conservationists, to which you refer, needs to be placed in the context of the various environmental incentive schemes available to farmers. Set-aside was not seen as a priority beside the other schemes such as Environmentally Sensitive Areas. However, the sheer scale of land under set-aside, combined with modifications to prescriptions, have produced a very valuable conservation resource.
Many of the substantial declines in bird species most closely associated with farmland are attributed to changes in modern agricultural practice. One aspect of this is the reduced availability of weed seeds as a source of food for birds in winter. Rotational set-aside has compensated for this shortage. Indeed, the perpetuation of winter stubble and the consequent delayed sowing have been actively encouraged as conservation measures in parts of the country. It is clear that many conservationists have come round to valuing set-aside for both rarer and more widespread species.
The BTO recently embarked on a study of set-aside and its value for breeding birds. It is clear that the area taken up by set-aside is going to fluctuate. The BTO is also studying the causes of change in population trends of farmland birds, which are unlikely to be the same for all species, and has launched Save Our Skylarks, its first ever species-led appeal to raise funds for this work.
After teasing apart those aspects of agricultural practice which are beneficial or detrimental to bird populations, the results should be translated into practical guidance under various agricultural environment schemes.