My father has generously given a subscription of Science News to me since
I was small. In the ’60s I received a
package in the mail each month containing science experiment materials
and directions. So cool! We celebrated
Dad’s 90th birthday in April. He was an
aeronautic engineer; I’m an architect. I
am sure the magazine you deliver to us
each month gives us the same joy. Thank
you for making Science News a joy for
so many of us for so many decades.
gift subscriptions to me and my siblings
our entire adult lives, and I intend to
continue that tradition for my grown
children. Not sure if we win the prize
for longest family subscription, but I do
know that Science News has had a pro-
found influence on our lives, inspiring
curiosity and instilling great respect for
the timeless pursuit of new discoveries.
It was a thrill to see that Janet Raloff
got the plum assignment of combing
through the archives. I’ve been a huge
fan of Janet’s writing for many years,
and could recognize her clever, articu-
late style without looking at the byline.
Jack Connell, Raleigh, N.C.
improvement that this wonder drug
can do. Then, reading the caption I see
that the second photo is “the brain of a
similar mouse after three days of bexarotene treatment.” These photos are
unrelated! You are hyping a “soon to
be” miracle drug for Alzheimer’s with
photos of two different mice.
Bob Clauson, via e-mail
Becky Thompson, South Pasadena, Calif.
I’ll add to what has probably been a
flood of congratulations for 90 years
of comprehensive coverage of all things
science. I am 56 years old and a third-generation subscriber. If your records
go back that far, my grandfather, Dr.
Brain images questioned
Regarding the article “Cancer drug
shows promise as treatment for
Alzheimer’s” (SN: 3/10/12, p. 5): Tom
Siegfried (in his editorial from the
same issue) talks about undue hype of
breakthrough cures. Turning the page,
I find two photos showing the great
The images in the story are indeed from
different mice, but they illustrate a valid
way to show that bexarotene reduced
brain plaques. To spot A-beta plaques,
brain tissue had to be removed from
the skull, so multiple tests on the same
animal were impossible. The scientists
selected representative images from each
group of animals (usually six or more)
and combined data from individual mice
to spot trends. — Laura Sanders
Charles Wright MacMillan, was a
devoted reader probably in the ’20s, as
was my mother from the time she was a
child. My parents have been providing
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