Letters archive

Dan Bleicher suggests that by always adhering to the truth, scientists will win public support (3 July, p 29) . Absolute confidence as to where the truth lies would be wonderful, but most scientists understand that results always come with uncertainty. Thus the public-relations techniques that Bleicher disapproves of are sometimes necessary in communicating results …

Jim Giles focuses on the lack of scientific evidence for therapies used by parents trying to help autistic children (26 June, p 42) . On the one hand, the absence of empirical data to support different therapies is good reason to be sceptical. On the other, the evidence from parental observation may have some value. …

If Christine Kenneally repeats her assertion (29 May, p 33) , that the language Lao has no adjectives, she may hear a few choice adjectives coming her way from a proud Lao national. In fact, Lao has its full complement of adjectives. A degree of scepticism is in order regarding the statements of linguists and …

The largest volcano in the solar system, Alba Mons on Mars, is diametrically on the opposite side of the planet from the very large crater Hellas Planitia. There are similarly good correlations for most of Mars's other volcanoes. These observations may have a bearing on the coincidence of volcanic events with suspected meteor craters that …

In his article on the advantages of autism, David Wolman stated that some people with autism "can't see the wood for the trees" (1 May, p 32) . Autistic people realise that a forest is made of many trees. However, the urge to present a complete and honest picture leads to a description that seeks …

I am a 15-year-old self-confessed nerd, and an avid reader of New Scientist . I am writing because there never seems to be enough high-school-level science content out there. There seems to be a massive black hole between National Geographic Kids , seemingly aimed at young children, and material for adult amateurs. Teenagers are skipped …

Amir Yassin wants the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly to be renamed in order to "reflect biological reality" (19 June, p 24) . Somewhere there may exist an evolutionary path that conveniently follows the ideal of bifurcating speciation, but unfortunately this seems not to be the case here on Earth. Indeed, it has long been ignored …

Robert Morley pleads for a single global language, and refuses to mourn the deaths of hundreds of languages (26 June, p 30) . The extinction of a language is not only about the loss of its everyday use; it is the end of the history and culture of the people who spoke it. Would Morley, …

• In our article (10 July, p 4) on the use of the drug "dex" to prevent non-standard genitalia in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, 1 in 8 at-risk pregnancies will develop as a female with CAH. • Chicks have been found to preferentially count from left to right, but this does not "always" happen, …