Letters archive

Only time will tell whether or not the particle identified in experiments at CERN is the Higgs boson (14 July, p 6) – or just one of many, since theory suggests there may be more than one. For the moment, we have reached what seems to be the summit of achievement. Yet we still have …

Fear not for rationalist Sanal Edamaruku, facing arrest for debunking claims of a miracle at a Catholic church in Mumbai (30 June, p 27) . He is a great guy who works tirelessly to stamp out ignorance, and nothing has happened to him yet. I still recall one instance a couple of years back involving …

What is it that the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) expects to gain from contact with aliens (30 June, p 28) ? I suspect that like naughty children we are waiting for a superior being – maybe a mother figure – to tell us what to do. We know what we are going to be …

In your look at how life on Earth might have emerged, Nick Lane notes that complex cells evolved just once (23 June, p 32) . All eukaryotes alive today descended from a common ancestor, but what if other lineages came about only to go extinct? When a cell absorbs a different cell type in the …

As observation and much psychological research show, contrary to Philip Penton's letter (7 July, p 31) , not everyone cheats. The strength of people's moral code varies hugely. It is this that is interesting and needs understanding. And, when I consider the complex and changing nature of my political beliefs and the various circumstances that …

In your editorial (7 July, p 5) you assume that the $1 million it would take to keep an asteroid-spotting telescope going for five more years is good value. Almost certainly, the expected number of lives saved by the $1 million spent on planetary defence would be dwarfed by the same amount spent on, for …

Your story on an insulin pill (23 June, p 20) states that it could spell the end for "painful injections". In Australia, diabetes educators have for years taught good injecting techniques. It takes a truly clumsy person to make an injection hurt. Far too many parents teach their children terror of needles, syringes and injectables.

In his letter, Richard Wilson suggests a more humane way of controlling the testosterone-fuelled excesses of investment bankers than by castration (30 June, p 30) . However, when you consider the damage done to economies worldwide by their greed and recklessness, and the resulting misery inflicted, the idea of surgery does have its appeal.

John Sulston writes in his letter "the Rio declaration appears to agree so little", later stating "we must trust to deliver our future" (7 July, p 30) . For 20 years we have watched world leaders duck, dive, obfuscate and lie whilst governments and corporations trash the planet in the name of profit and prosperity. …

Controlling robots with our minds through an fMRI scanner may offer hope for disabled people and those with locked-in syndrome (7 July, p 19) . But wouldn't it be better to link two humans in that way – for one to embody another? In places where skilled surgeons are not to be had, surgical robots …

Jeff Hecht discusses the possible benefit of being exposed to less blue light at night and more by day, and suggests varying the light sources to which we are exposed (30 June, p 42) . This may be an ideal solution, but since light receptors are in the eyes, a far less expensive and more …

Your special report on the treatment of lung cancer (30 June, p 6) is very illuminating. The UK's National Health Service will be neglecting its duty if it does not ensure that this is drawn to the attention of all its chest specialists, oncologists and GPs.