Letters archive

The research cited in Peter Ward's article (20 June, p 28) may challenge James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, that the Earth is a self-regulating superorganism, but it falls a long way short of a refutation. When Lovelock posits feedback mechanisms that keep Earth fit for life, he does not mean fit for any particular form of …

The anniversary of the moon landing is an appropriate time to note the changing technologies involved. In particular, the moon landing would not have been possible had it not been for the analogue computer. I worked for Electronic Associates, which made these computers for NASA. They performed calculations using physical variables such as voltage; even …

Larry Curley complains that UK law requires small domestic wind turbines to shut down in the event of a mains electricity failure (6 June, p 27) . There is actually a good reason for this. If a turbine remains connected to the mains supply during a power cut, it tries to send power into the …

Having been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in middle age, I was fascinated by the article on altered time perception in children with the condition (6 June, p 12) . My time perception is faulty to the extent that it is almost non-existent. Though it is difficult to assess, I don't think I perceive …

Stephen Roots suggests that most atheists would admit the possibility of hitherto unknown, vastly intelligent life forms (20 June, p 25) . Indeed, such life forms may exist and they may land in London's Hyde Park in pink-striped flying saucers tomorrow, demanding an audience with David Attenborough. So far, no such intelligent aliens have revealed …

Your article on the Arctic describes how application of international law might effect peaceful distribution of its untapped resources (6 June, p 6) . Geographical location has never seemed to me to be a legitimate basis for the appropriation of resources and is a barrier to peaceful cohabitation. Instead, the Earth's resources could be viewed …

Karl Hoenke questions whether we should adhere to the medical orthodoxy of completing a course of antibiotics, suggesting that this might encourage the emergence of resistant bacteria rather than discourage it (13 June, p 25) . His quandary is easily answered. While antibiotics inhibit or kill susceptible bugs, they are not the only defence mechanism …

Lawrence Krauss is his usual entertaining self when he discusses Star Trek (13 June, p 22) , but seems to have missed what for me was its most obvious sub-message. The society Gene Roddenberry created was based upon communal cooperation and a one-world government, in which money played absolutely no part. The needs of each …

• Christine Maggiore's daughter Eliza Jane died in 2005, not in 2003 as we suggested (20 June, p 32) . • The scale on our diagram showing the fraction of exposure to gamma radiation inside a building compared with that outside should have been labelled in the following order with the fractions 1/10, 1/20, 1/30, …