Letters

Unlocking the Secrets of Alzheimer's

God bless the nuns of the Order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for having the foresight and brains (available for study) to help us aging baby boomers better understand the devastating illness of Alzheimer's [HEALTH, May 14]. Having just turned 50, showing symptoms of my family's history of heart disease and with slight problems with memory recall, I plan on following the findings of David Snowdon's study. Thanks to all the nuns who had the courage to participate so that people like me may have the opportunity to age with health and grace. J. KAREN KUGELMAN Queensbury, N.Y.

The nuns in Snowdon's study appear to have lived relatively stress-free lives--no mortgages, doctors' bills, credit-card payments or children to worry about. I am curious to learn how stress will affect us aging baby boomers. Many of us have characteristics of the nuns that were mentioned in the article, such as higher education, intellectual endeavors and good nutrition. But no generation can escape negativity, and keeping a positive outlook is very difficult at times. The concerns of two jobs per household, escalating prices and other pressures of day-to-day living--it would be interesting to know what effect those factors have. LEE ELLIOTT Atlanta

Society owes a tremendous debt to the 678 Catholic nuns who volunteered for Snowdon's Alzheimer's research. These women, after devoting their lives to God and their community, continue to serve humanity by opening their hearts and, literally, their minds to scientific inquiry even after death. These nuns have much to teach us, not only about this disease but also about generosity, optimism, faith and joy. Their quiet example stands in marked contrast to the selfishness, hate, violence, greed and materialism of today's world. KEVIN KAWAMOTO Seattle

How nice to learn that exercising our mental muscles may help stave off Alzheimer's. After we have created a generation of folks who need pocket calculators to balance their checkbooks, computers with spell-check to write letters and cash registers that tell how much change to give back to customers, now you tell us that using our brains is good for us? Duh! TIMOTHY TAYLOR WEBB Redding, Conn.

Head injuries and strokes are not the only culprits that can damage our precious brain reserves. I wonder if those drug experiments of years past might actually have taken something very important away from people's brains. Boomers may find some solace in their assertions that they "didn't inhale," but maybe they just don't remember anymore. DORIS HINDRICHS Lynden, Ont.

--Former pupils of the School Sisters of Notre Dame wrote us about how their teachers' contribution to the Alzheimer's study reflected the nuns' tradition of inspirational guidance. "The sisters' involvement in the Nun Study reminds me of the help and encouragement they gave me in school," wrote a Texas woman. "It doesn't surprise me in the least that they have responded so generously to the study," a Chicago woman noted. "It's just like them to keep on giving." Said a New Yorker: "It's no wonder the nuns are donating their brains, since they gave their hearts and souls to me and 50 classmates. What a group of angels!"

Ford Goes Green

While I remain somewhat skeptical of William Clay Ford Jr.'s ability to turn the Ford Motor Co.'s blue oval logo into one that is green [BUSINESS, May 14], I am pleased to see a leader of the notoriously antienvironmental automobile industry attempting to move things in a new direction. While some make car-buying decisions based in large degree on their desire for clean, efficient vehicles, Bill Ford recognizes that for many people such concerns are an afterthought. If he and his company can provide cars and trucks that satisfy consumers' wants while addressing the environment's needs, this will surely be progress. Should Ford continue in its commitment to an environmentally responsible approach, I might put it on my manufacturers-to-consider list. SETH SKINNER Eugene, Ore.

The Crying Game

Your dismissal of the reality-TV show Survivor: The Australian Outback as a huge letdown [PEOPLE, May 14] was just about what one would expect from a culture of carnivores who are more comfortable with backstabbing and deceit than with displays of genuine emotion and, dare I say it, love. Spending time in the wilderness can get us back in touch with our own human nature, and that apparently is exactly what happened to this fine, articulate group of men and women who took part in the show. Right on, Tina, Colby, Keith, Elizabeth, Rodger and all the rest of you! WILL JOHNSON Cobble Hill, B.C.

Correction

In our story on civil unions--marriages between two people of the same sex--in Vermont [LAW, May 14], we mistakenly said that "half a dozen Vermont town clerks quit rather than grant licenses to gay couples." In fact, only two clerks resigned.

High-Tech Security Threats

The article on the alleged misappropriation of a source code from Lucent Technologies [BUSINESS, May 14] took the threat of intellectual-property theft in high-tech companies and turned it into a stereotypical, sensationalized, simplistic piece. All high-tech companies face the possibility of losing valuable information through the dishonesty of their employees. This danger is not unique to those firms that employ Chinese or other foreign-born workers, and to characterize this story as one of Chinese spies preying on America's business know-how only panders to emotionally charged stereotypes. JENNY HYKES JIANG Cary, N.C.

Big-Ticket Boondoggle?

The proposed missile-defense shield is irrelevant to the security of the U.S. and its allies [NATION, May 14]. Even if it were to work, a smart terrorist could surely find many cheap and easy ways to bypass it. Why wouldn't an enemy state just use an individual to smuggle a nuclear, chemical or biological device across our porous borders? U.S. security would be better served if the billions of dollars wasted on this illogical idea were used to bolster our National Guard and Reserve units. WARREN ULMER Lander, Wyo.

Just how stupid is the Bush administration's plan for a missile-defense system? Any rogue state that got its hands on a nuclear warhead could just put it in the hold of a freighter, sail it into New York or any other U.S. harbor and detonate it there. This defense scheme is simply a thinly veiled way to transfer billions of dollars in taxpayer money into the pockets of the defense industry. DAVID HOEFT Duluth, Minn.

Mother-and-Child Reunions

I let myself cry after reading Nadya Labi's story on the shattering of family ties in Sierra Leone [WORLD, May 14]. I cried over the moment of utter beauty (in what was a story mostly of grief), when Marie was reunited with her young daughter Aisha, their embrace captured so tellingly in your photograph. That parents who've lost their children still hope and that workers remain devoted to reuniting families are tiny miracles. I can only have faith that International Rescue Committee workers will bring more children back to their rightful homes. ALLISON BROWN New York City

The plight of families in much of Africa is indeed saddening. But the only hope for these people is for the World Bank to stop dishing out money to corrupt and vicious leaders and for the U.N. to help the people of these countries to take control of their lives. CARL HOKANSON Encino, Calif.