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Half-man, half-phone
To join the debate, visit newscientist.com/letters
Big not better From Janine Blaeloch, Western Lands Project In your look at the advance of industrial-scale solar generation across public land in the southwest US, you focused on the desert tortoise as the central obstacle to its progress (5 May, p 8). Of course, our biologically rich deserts are home to more than tortoises. But what is slowing down the spread of “big solar” is more likely the suspension of taxpayer-funded loan guarantees and subsidies in the billions, the low price of natural gas, and the dawning awareness that these big solar projects are more technologically marginal, controversial and damaging than investors imagined. Some green groups are building support for the saner alternative of “distributed generation” in many small-scale sites. DG encompasses many options: the use of degraded and even contaminated land; wholesale DG in the built environment, such as car parks and superstore roofs; and policy-driven DG that could take off with just a fraction of the subsidies lavished on big solar. Seattle, Washington, US
Escaping justice From Ken Pease Your article “Justice will be done” (12 May, p 44) deals effectively, but exclusively, with how to minimise wrongful convictions by making procedural changes. The avoidance of wrongful convictions is not sufficient to ensure that justice will be done. An internet search on “miscarriages of justice” shows the phrase is, perversely, almost universally treated as synonymous with wrongful convictions, with little or no attention accorded to wrongful acquittals. This view is sustained by the long-standing criminal-law tradition that the wrongful
acquittal is the preferable error. Perhaps the cognitive and behavioural precursors of failed criminal investigations and wrongful acquittals should be afforded similar attention. Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
Taming toxins From Jack Stewart, Soricimed Biopharma I read, with fascination, your article on venoms as drug candidates (5 May, p 34). Your readers might be interested in a little-known venom from a mammal. A shrew in eastern North America, Blarina brevicauda, has the peptide soricidin in its saliva. It causes paralysis and is used to immobilise prey. The drug development company Soricimed has been developing this for its anticancer properties, with a phase I clinical study soon. There are also possible applications in treating pain. Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
Talking cures From John Vincent In his article on the protests against the American Psychiatric Association, James Davies mentions calls for reform of the US mental health system to provide alternatives to medication (19 May, p 7). UK mental health services could also do with reform because of their overemphasis on medication. Peer support was mentioned as an alternative. This is fashionable and can be very beneficial, but it should augment rather than substitute for professional support. Many National Health Service users I know say it is difficult, if not impossible, to get time with a psychologist. Psychological treatment is woefully under-provisioned in the UK. Perhaps a cost-effective peer-based solution is for
psychologists to provide workshops, for example teaching peer support groups the use of cognitive behavioural therapy for those with depression. Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Half-man, half-phone
From Paul B. Harris I was not surprised by your article “The gadget inside” (12 May, p 22) as I have thought for some time that it is inevitable that phones and other electronic devices will be implanted under the skin. You touched on cost and reliability, that phones are faultprone and a reliable device is likely to be rather expensive. But don’t forget obsolescence. Who would want even last month’s smartphone implanted long term? And who will do the implanting? Will gadget-implant surgery become a new speciality? Wembley Downs, Western Australia
Brain growth From Naomi Schrecker In your fascinating article, Evan Eichler states that duplications of the SRGAP2 gene, which helps drive development of the neocortex, would have changed early human brain development immediately and dramatically (12 May, p 10). The possible existence of a group containing those with and without the duplications poses interesting questions. Could there
have been a period in which individuals did not fully exploit their more sophisticated brains? Those raising infants blessed with the gene duplications may not have had the ability to stimulate them, to enable all the complex neural pathways to form. What if the only individuals with the increased brainpower in a group happened to be unable to prevail in physical conflict, and therefore had less access to resources, including mates? Changes in average intelligence may have been gradual until, for example, prolonged drought, or population growth, demanded more sophisticated problem solving, co-operation, and communication. Prestwich, Manchester, UK
First transit From Roger Horrocks Marcus Chown, reviewing two books on the transit of Venus (12 May, p 48), says that in 1716 Edmond Halley was the first to realise the transit “had the potential to reveal the scale of the solar system”. In fact British astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks – who is in my family tree – had the idea earlier. He was the first to predict and observe the transit, in 1639, and he used his precise observations to estimate the sizes and distances of the sun and the planets. Horrocks attempted to involve others, but bewailed the lack of observation by astronomers in America, which would have allowed more precise results. Auckland, New Zealand Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
2 June 2012 | NewScientist | 35
Big not better From Janine Blaeloch, Western Lands Project In your look at the advance of industrial-scale solar generation across public land in the southwest US, you focused on the desert tortoise as the central obstacle to its progress (5 May, p 8). Of course, our biologically rich deserts are home to more than tortoises. But what is slowing down the spread of “big solar” is more likely the suspension of taxpayer-funded loan guarantees and subsidies in the billions, the low price of natural gas, and the dawning awareness that these big solar projects are more technologically marginal, controversial and damaging than investors imagined. Some green groups are building support for the saner alternative of “distributed generation” in many small-scale sites. DG encompasses many options: the use of degraded and even contaminated land; wholesale DG in the built environment, such as car parks and superstore roofs; and policy-driven DG that could take off with just a fraction of the subsidies lavished on big solar. Seattle, Washington, US
Escaping justice From Ken Pease Your article “Justice will be done” (12 May, p 44) deals effectively, but exclusively, with how to minimise wrongful convictions by making procedural changes. The avoidance of wrongful convictions is not sufficient to ensure that justice will be done. An internet search on “miscarriages of justice” shows the phrase is, perversely, almost universally treated as synonymous with wrongful convictions, with little or no attention accorded to wrongful acquittals. This view is sustained by the long-standing criminal-law tradition that the wrongful
acquittal is the preferable error. Perhaps the cognitive and behavioural precursors of failed criminal investigations and wrongful acquittals should be afforded similar attention. Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
Taming toxins From Jack Stewart, Soricimed Biopharma I read, with fascination, your article on venoms as drug candidates (5 May, p 34). Your readers might be interested in a little-known venom from a mammal. A shrew in eastern North America, Blarina brevicauda, has the peptide soricidin in its saliva. It causes paralysis and is used to immobilise prey. The drug development company Soricimed has been developing this for its anticancer properties, with a phase I clinical study soon. There are also possible applications in treating pain. Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
Talking cures From John Vincent In his article on the protests against the American Psychiatric Association, James Davies mentions calls for reform of the US mental health system to provide alternatives to medication (19 May, p 7). UK mental health services could also do with reform because of their overemphasis on medication. Peer support was mentioned as an alternative. This is fashionable and can be very beneficial, but it should augment rather than substitute for professional support. Many National Health Service users I know say it is difficult, if not impossible, to get time with a psychologist. Psychological treatment is woefully under-provisioned in the UK. Perhaps a cost-effective peer-based solution is for
psychologists to provide workshops, for example teaching peer support groups the use of cognitive behavioural therapy for those with depression. Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Half-man, half-phone
From Paul B. Harris I was not surprised by your article “The gadget inside” (12 May, p 22) as I have thought for some time that it is inevitable that phones and other electronic devices will be implanted under the skin. You touched on cost and reliability, that phones are faultprone and a reliable device is likely to be rather expensive. But don’t forget obsolescence. Who would want even last month’s smartphone implanted long term? And who will do the implanting? Will gadget-implant surgery become a new speciality? Wembley Downs, Western Australia
Brain growth From Naomi Schrecker In your fascinating article, Evan Eichler states that duplications of the SRGAP2 gene, which helps drive development of the neocortex, would have changed early human brain development immediately and dramatically (12 May, p 10). The possible existence of a group containing those with and without the duplications poses interesting questions. Could there
have been a period in which individuals did not fully exploit their more sophisticated brains? Those raising infants blessed with the gene duplications may not have had the ability to stimulate them, to enable all the complex neural pathways to form. What if the only individuals with the increased brainpower in a group happened to be unable to prevail in physical conflict, and therefore had less access to resources, including mates? Changes in average intelligence may have been gradual until, for example, prolonged drought, or population growth, demanded more sophisticated problem solving, co-operation, and communication. Prestwich, Manchester, UK
First transit From Roger Horrocks Marcus Chown, reviewing two books on the transit of Venus (12 May, p 48), says that in 1716 Edmond Halley was the first to realise the transit “had the potential to reveal the scale of the solar system”. In fact British astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks – who is in my family tree – had the idea earlier. He was the first to predict and observe the transit, in 1639, and he used his precise observations to estimate the sizes and distances of the sun and the planets. Horrocks attempted to involve others, but bewailed the lack of observation by astronomers in America, which would have allowed more precise results. Auckland, New Zealand Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
2 June 2012 | NewScientist | 35