Where are they now?
Far from aimlessly meandering solely on the Southern Ocean, it seems from
Diane Martindale’s recent news piece that albatrosses are turning up in waters
ranging from tropical to Antarctic
(2 September, p 15).
Throughout February 1999, during a round-the-world yacht race between
Honolulu and Yokohama via Johnston Island, we travelled on the trade winds north
of the equator for thousands of miles. Usually at least one albatross, and
sometimes three or four, would be keeping us company. Generally they were of the
larger variety and did not stray too close to us, although some were smaller and
more friendly鈥攖hese may have been young or of a different type.
Even in foul conditions they seemed quite happy to fly around aimlessly just
above the waves, and are perfect companions for sailors.
Ornithologists should go and take a fresh look and maybe rewrite the
reference books.
RIP 脰tzi
At last someone is talking sense about 脰tzi the Iceman
(7 October, p 24).
Most of the corpses unearthed by archaeologists were preserved because someone
put them away carefully. Why must we fantasise a dramatic accident for this one?
He had a precious axe, beautiful clothes and unused hunting gear with him. These
look like “grave goods”, which would make this a high-status burial, not a
climbing accident.
脰tzi was carried up the hill, dead as a nail, and placed under a cairn that
kept the scavengers at bay. There he freeze-dried into a mummy before the
glacier covered him.
If I am right, 脰tzi is probably not the only prehistoric corpse to have been
treated this way. The glacier may have swept away or ground up most of them, but
perhaps some are still to be found sheltering behind natural stony outcrops.
3D pie in the sky
Extravagant claims are being made for so-called “3D printing” technology
which I do not think anyone truly believes will be realised
(30 September, p 24).
Rapid prototyping is currently a useful technique, in terms of allowing a
3D form to be created quickly without using expensive and time-consuming
model-making techniques.
To infer, however, that this will eventually lead to everyone having a 3D
machine in their living room is, I think, missing the point altogether.
Without exception, any current (and most likely, future) consumer item will
be far too expensive when made using such 3D techniques. There will always be a
cheaper, faster and better way using more conventional processes. Consumer items
just do not need to be totally individual in the way implied, which appears to
be the only real benefit so far claimed for this technology.
No defence
We were fairly staggered at the approach of your article targeting graduates
for the “defence”, or rather, military industry (16 September, p 56).
Britain is one of the largest suppliers of weapons in the world and Racal Defence
Electronics’ spokesman proudly attests to that fact, saying it as only an arms
exporter could (with a lack of morality): “Racal systems will be involved in any
conflict in the world鈥攜our work is very visible.” Can anyone be happy and
proud to be involved in conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra
Leone, India, Pakistan, West Timor and Sri Lanka? Are they happy to do so in
areas of tension and potential conflict such as the Middle East, Greece, Turkey
and elsewhere?
The whole tone of the article is devoid of moral responsibility, and of real
information on the end use of these “exciting” products, as Gary Atkins,
communications manager at Rolls-Royce, refers to them. He also cites Dubai,
Bangkok and Jakarta for graduate placements. The first two are areas of
increasing tension and hence fertile ground for arms dealers, and the last is
currently under a US arms embargo.
But it’s not just consciences that are left out in the cold. They are joined
by sound economics. As the economic commentator Samuel Brittan has written:
“Arms sales do not represent, even in the narrowest economic terms, the best use
of national resources. They are so heavily supported by the taxpayer that there
might actually be a gain in moving the workers, plant and technical skills to
other activities that could pay for themselves” (New Statesman, 31
January, 2000).
Working for arms export companies will help neither the buyer nor Britain. It
helps only the company directors and their shareholders.
Herpes hype
Claire Ainsworth’s report of a vaccine that could save newborns from herpes
infections
(23 September, p 8)
exaggerates the significance of herpes simplex
for most people and adds to the stigma surrounding the virus.
There are two human herpes simplex viruses鈥攖ypes 1 and 2. Both viruses
cause only occasional sores for most people. Around three-quarters of adults in
Britain have been infected by at least one type.
The new vaccine is said only to work for “genital herpes”. This is
misleading. Historically this genital infection was caused by herpes simplex
virus type 2. However the current prevalence of oral sex has meant that up to 60
per cent of new genital infections diagnosed in Britain’s clinics are caused by
type 1 virus. We may assume that in many cases, facial sores will be caused by
type 2 virus.
A baby contracting herpes simplex in the first months of its life may be very
seriously affected or die. However, herpes simplex is one of the least common
causes of infant death. The British Paediatric Surveillance Centre reported that
4.5 babies die from this condition each year.
It is hard to find another medical condition which is as universal as herpes
simplex and which is the subject of a similar hysteria. Neonatal herpes simplex
is uncommon.
Resuscitation orders
Within Robert Adler’s informative article on the power of stereotypes there
is a misconception about Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders. Adler supposes these
“prohibit hospital staff from actively intervening if a patient begins to fail”
(30 September, p 38).
What we are actually concerned with is death, which is not usually
reversible. The aim is to avoid futile and ghastly attempts at resuscitation
when someone has died in hospital from terminal cancer, for example. The chance
of successful revival from a primarily cardiac event, such as ventricular
fibrillation after a heart attack, is much higher, and it is sensible to plan in
advance, where possible, whether resuscitation attempts should be
undertaken.
It is certainly not the case in Britain that a DNR decision means withdrawal
of care or intervention “if a patient begins to fail”. There is now a carefully
considered policy with widely circulated guidelines to help those in British
hospitals deal with this difficult issue.
Close to you
The solution to the outburst from Markarian 501
(23 September, p 32)
is simple. Because it ejects huge amounts of charged particles in our direction,
the space between us is more heavily laden with charged particles than the
average. Hence more Compton-effect collisions occur per light year of space, and
a larger than normal red shift ensues. This gives the impression that Markarian
501 is further away than it really is.
Letter
Hazel Muir’s article on Markarian 501 evokes the quantum gravity graininess
for space-time as the explanation of the longevity of high-energy gamma ray
photons. Perhaps this is also the explanation of more mundane events such as
that occasional strange feeling that even your most comfortable clothes are made
of sandpaper or the difficulty of getting the very last drop of whisky out of
the bottle.
However, the end of the article demonstrated the existence of something more
pervasive than space-time itself. The construction of the Major Atmospheric
Gamma Imaging Cerenkov Telescope (MAGIC) and the Very Energetic Radiation
Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) finally confirmed the existence of
something suspected in education circles for years鈥攖he Contrived
Ridiculous Acronym Phenomenon.
A planet is born
When I was 12, my religious education teacher encouraged me to visualise
planet formation, for some reason. I did as I was told, and continued to puzzle
over this during his lessons, thinking of little else. I came up with a theory
that may be correct, based on recent discoveries
(Inside Science, 16 September).
If planetesimals are composed of gravel, then isn’t it likely that the flow of
this gravel at different rates from surface to core would create a vibration?
This vibration might induce a pyroplastic flow effect, so that the planetesimals
act as huge blobs of liquid. This would explain how they cope with collisions.
Like two drops of water, they would wobble into each other. Can we test this or
am I just dreaming?
Clearing the fields
Far from being difficult to clear, a smart minefield
(30 September, p 4)
would be infinitely easier to clear鈥攖aking no more than a day to
completely clear it of mines. Jumping mines are as vulnerable as clay pigeons so
all you have to do is clear a small section of mines with, for example
explosives, and let the minefield rearrange itself. Lots of machine guns set to
shoot at anything that moves should dispose of the rest.
Fast fool
As a regular reader, it pains me to point out that Feedback
(30 September)
seems to have taken great pleasure in humiliating McDonalds for its hidden,
although powerful, refrigeration techniques. However, “AUG 14 2300” does not
point to a date in the far future, rather to 11 pm on August 14, that year. This
is to remind restaurant workers to remove items before its shelf life ends, and
to rotate stock correctly.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but hope you enjoyed that doughnut.