Letters archive

Peter Aldhous warns us about the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM ) as if it will be something of a nuclear bomb (12 December 2009, p 38) . I disagree. The DSM is not the only classification of mental and behavioural disorders. It is used mostly in …

Monterey Bay Aquarium and its Seafood Watch programme agree with the call in New Scientist 's editorial for "sound science" to be the basis for determining what is and what isn't a sustainable fishery (9 January, p 5) . Seafood Watch has established itself among consumers and major seafood buyers as a reliable source for …

Like Bryn Glover, I am concerned about how to preserve digital family photos for 50 years or so (9 January, p 26) . Not only do you have to worry about the storage medium, but you also have to worry about the software and hardware needed to view them. While jpeg seems to be a …

As New Scientist reports, New York City has recently launched its "National Salt Reduction Initiative" in a bid to reduce the salt intake and improve the health of its residents (16 January, p 4) . The report failed to mention the acknowledgement that New York City gave to the UK's salt-reduction programme in the creation …

Mark Buchanan discusses the oft-experienced phenomenon of managerial incompetence, but fails to suggest a solution (19 December 2009, p 68) . I have one – it is based on the idea that promotion should be seen as an opportunity to demonstrate competence in a different position. If someone is promoted to a position in which …

I find it odd that the polar bear is often claimed to be the world's largest land predator, as it was in your article on large marine reptiles (31 October 2009, p 32) . Though not normally classed as land animals, saltwater crocodiles spend much of their time in fresh or brackish water, or lazing …

You report findings that diabetics who stringently control their blood-sugar levels are more likely to crash their cars than people with poorly controlled diabetes (12 December 2009, p 7) . In 30 years of driving with type 1 diabetes, I have trodden the fine line between the low-sugar recommendations of doctors and the requirement of …

• Graham Colditz works as an epidemiologist at Washington University in St Louis, not the University of Washington as we said in our report on the health impacts of living in poor neighbourhoods (16 January, p 6) . • We lamented that some skiers fail to pull a "chord" to inflate their avalanche airbag systems, …