Letters archive

SpaceX founder Elon Musk may send a million people to Mars, but it won't be to Mars and back (17 December 2011, p 45) . It is the "and back" that gives NASA a headache, and adds all the zeros to mission costs. A suicide mission to Mars is fairly straightforward, and I have even …

The outcome of the United Nations climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, was indeed a deal which offers little for the poorest people already struggling at the sharp end of climate change (17 December 2011, p 8) . On the plus side, governments shunned voluntary pledges of action and turned decisively towards legal commitments. …

Your article "Game of life" featured our research into game transfer phenomena (GTP), by which players of video games sometimes react to the world as they would to a gaming environment (24/31 December 2011, p 76) . We would like to point out that the negative reaction by gamers was not to our study, but …

An interesting feature of language diversity not identified by David Robson (10 December 2011, p 34) is that languages in hot countries tend to use sounds typical of a wide open mouth, whereas in cold countries the language is more conducive to the use of almost closed lips. From Duncan Cameron Robson believes languages that …

You reported proposals to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping (17 December 2011, p 20) . The rim-driven thrusters, polymer coatings and air-cavity systems mentioned will all increase costs. In 40 years, the only things the shipping companies have spent money on have been navigational aids, bow/stern/tunnel thrusters for docking, stabilisers and anti-pirate safe rooms. …

The theories described in Robert Adler's article on the multiverse (26 November 2011, p 43) have consequences for the usual "que será será" argument that free will is an illusion. This implicitly assumes a single causal thread running from the initial conditions at the start of the universe, and so we have no real freedom …

Further to Dan Lufkin's letter about massaging fish (17 December 2011, p 31) , I worked at a large aquarium where part of my job was to swim with the fish. The clown triggerfish would always come up and sit in my hand while I scratched the back of its head, to the delight of …

Dave Howells in his letter defines "nothing" as unconsciousness, a bit like a virtual container that is empty (10 December 2011, p 33) . But his container, his mind, contains the anatomy, the memories, the skills and experience that make up him. If he is anaesthetised, or falls asleep, these become parts of a switched-off …

Your analysis of the hurdles to overcome anti-science was excellent (29 October 2011, p 42) . There is one more challenge, though. Most people, including many politicians, do not really know how science works. When we hear the word "science", we think about double-blinding, statistical significance and peer review. It is easy to forget that …

You reported US defence funding of research into reprogrammable nanoparticle antibiotics (3 December 2011, p 5) , saying: "As with GPS and the internet, this might benefit the military initially, but eventually become a model for mainstream medication." New Scientist is to be commended for recognising that what matters are the research results, not the …

• "The oil maze" and "Tapping into history", which appeared in the Statoil branded articles in the UK editions of 3 and 10 December 2011, should have referred readers to energyrealities.org and not to a similarly named website. • Anna Wilkinson, quoted in the tortoise cognition feature (24/31 December 2011, p 44) , is now …