Scientific American - USA (2019-12)

(Antfer) #1
6 Scientific American, December 2019

LETTERS
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CANCER CONTROL
As a community oncologist, I enjoyed
James DeGregori and Robert Gatenby’s
article “Darwin’s Cancer Fix.” Their ap­
proach to treating metastatic prostate can ­
cer by managing its growth, rather than
trying to kill all cancer cells, to avoid drug­
resistant tumors is intriguing and de­
serves a large randomized phase III trial.
But it is very important to remember that,
biologically, cancers are extremely hetero­
geneous, and there are caveats to the prin­
ciples the authors outline.
First, certain advanced cancers (espe­
cially testicular cancer, Hodgkin’s disease
and large­cell lymphoma) are curable with
vigorous, optimum therapy. Substantial
evidence demonstrates failure to maintain
dose intensity and interruptions in the
treatment schedule compromise chances
for a cure. Second, long­term, typically un­
interrupted hormonally based treatment
for local breast cancer is crucial to prevent­
ing metastases. Studies show that for
many, 10 years of treatment is superior to
five. Third, one of medicine’s greatest suc­
cesses—pediatric acute lymphoblastic leu­
kemia, which now has a cure rate of 80
to 90  percent—requires both optimum ini­
tial intensity and long­term, uninterrupted
treatment, often for three years.
For the majority of advanced, meta­
static cancers not known to be curable,
optimum scheduling of therapy certainly
deserves careful study. When it comes to


human cancers, however, many theories
about how treatment should work have
not panned out.
Cary Peterson Lincoln, Neb.

AD ASTRA
“The Good Kind of Crazy,” by Sarah Scoles,
describes research on exotic propulsion
technologies for spacecraft being con­
ducted by Heidi Fearn and James F. Wood­
ward, both at California State University,
Fullerton. I was a co­organizer of the 2016
conference in Estes Park, Colo., that is fea­
tured in the article, and I am a technical
witness to much of what Scoles sets out.
I have worked on exotic propulsion—in
the area of gravitational physics—for more
than 20 years and know this field is diffi­
cult to effectively report on as a journal­
ist—or to collaborate on as a researcher.
Many press reports are fawning and un­
critical. Scoles does a very good job of pre­
senting and balancing the differing per ­
spectives in this field.
Woodward has been a great inspira­
tion in the field, and Scoles is right to rec­
ognize him. But she distinguishes herself
by also taking care to note results that
contradict his claims. Such criticism is im­
portant, even necessary, to push the enve­
lope. What Scoles may not have realized,
however, is that such work in exotic pro­
pulsion is a search for one of the greatest
discoveries in gravitational physics. A pro­
pulsion application is the goal, but its
glamour makes us overlook the larger im­
plications such a mechanism might por­
tend for gravitational theory. And it makes
us complacent.
Some of the results Scoles describes
would constitute important discoveries in
gravitational physics if they are confirmed.
Yet it is rare for an exotic propulsion re­
searcher to present such results to gravita­
tional scientists at their meetings or in

their journals. Integration with textbook
gravitational physics is missing from some
prominent areas of exotic propulsion re­
search. There is, however, a new genera­
tion of exotic propulsion researchers who
are committed to integrating these excit­
ing propulsion possibilities within the
framework of known gravitational physics,
where they belong.
Lance Williams Konfluence Research
Institute, Manitou Springs, Colo.

POCKET TECHNOLOGY
In “The Big Slowdown” [Ventures], Wade
Roush claims we live in a time when tech­
nological shifts are increasingly rare in
comparison with the century prior to


  1. But as I see it, we are living in a time
    when technology has brought on remark­
    able, world­shifting change.
    I am referring, of course, to the new era
    of electronic communication. Roush nods
    toward this “outlier” when he mentions
    the rise of smartphones, but he pauses
    only long enough to mention the dangers
    they bring, not their revolutionary impact.
    When worlds change, change changes
    as well. We miss this process if we look for
    shifts in the wrong places. Roush men­
    tions consumer robotics and space explo­
    ration as areas that have not seen dramat­
    ic successes recently. Yet that is because
    moving mass from one place to another is
    no longer the arena where the real shifts
    are happening. Instead it’s all about our
    ability to communicate and gain access
    to information. Because we are walking
    around with computers in our pocket that
    make all this possible, we are living in a
    different world than three decades back.
    Jack Petranker Center for Creative
    Inquiry, Berkeley, Calif.


STOPPING GUN VIOLENCE
In “Gun Research Needs More Firepower”
[Science Agenda], the editors urge scien­
tists to utilize funding for gun violence
prevention research if an appropriations
bill passes the Senate.
Some steps can be taken immediately
that would have a significant impact on
gun use: First, enact a very large excise tax
on the manufacture and sale of all ammu­
nition and on materials and equipment to
make D.I.Y. ammunition. Second, prohibit
the import of those objects. Third, elimi­

August 2019


“ When it comes to


human cancers,


many theories about


treatment have


not panned out.”
cary peterson lincoln, neb.

© 2019 Scientific American
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