Letters archive

Mark Buchanan's otherwise admirable piece on random matrices (10 April, p 28) failed to cite the remarkable Tracy-Widom distributions, which, when applied to a given random matrix, will give the largest distinct solution. They are a class of distributions that are universally applicable and one of the greatest mathematical insights of the past 50 years. …

In your article "Hubble? Phoenix, more like" (17 April, p 26) , you mention that at the end of its useful life the space telescope will be made to partly burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, with the remainder landing in the Pacific. I would like to propose an alternative that will preserve this precious …

Michael Le Page suggests the release of genetically engineered "superphotosynthesising" plants to help kick-start evolution following a future mass extinction caused by human activity (24 April, p 38) . It seems reasonable to assume that wild plants have evolved a level of photosynthesis that makes optimal use of the resources such as water and minerals …

Kate Ravilious reports on the theory that a volcanic eruption was responsible for the collapse and disappearance of the human populations originating from the first wave of migration out of Africa around 125,000 years ago (17 April, p 28) . An alternative explanation for their demise is disease. The large gap between this first migration …

I would certainly welcome a scientifically qualified person to represent me in Parliament (24 April, p 22) , as a scientific approach to problems is far preferable to following personal or popular agendas. Unfortunately, the established career path to becoming a candidate for one of the major parties makes it unlikely that many such individuals …

John Ewing says that "almost every belief system has a history of stamping out non-believers" (24 April, p 24) but appears ignorant of the suppression of religious belief by officially atheist Communist states. I agree with him, however, that from a historical perspective atheist belief systems seem to be nothing out of the ordinary. After …

Andy Coghlan's article on the possible link between an individual's fear of strangers and racial prejudice (17 April, p 9) reminded me of studies in the field of terror management theory, which suggest that fear of one's own mortality motivates people to cling more strongly to their cultural world view and sense of identity. This …

I wonder if the oxo-degradable polywrap in which some copies of New Scientist are delivered, and whose properties were recently discussed by Feedback (3 April) , is recommended for home compost. The editor writes: • The oxo-degradable polywrap used for magazines, including New Scientist , is designed to last for 18 months or more before …

Hans van Haren makes the case against using tidal power because, as well as ecological damage, there is not much energy to be had anyway (3 April, p 20) . However, each renewable energy source cannot on its own cure us of our dependence on coal and oil, and each has its drawbacks. To be …

Jim Giles reports that analysts at the computer security company McAfee were instrumental in uncovering the scareware marketing ploys that got Innovative Marketing executives into such trouble (27 March, p 38) . One would have thought that the experience would have prompted legitimate security companies to ensure their own policies were spotless. However, last year …

• Sunspot numbers have been declining since the 1990s, not the 1920s as stated in our article on their impact on European winter temperatures (17 April, p 7) .