Letters archive

Thank you for publishing the revealing letter from Ceri Thomas, head of programmes at BBC News, which tells us exactly why the BBC coverage of climate change has been so flawed (19 April, p 33) . Thomas wrote that we should hear "other viewpoints" in the climate change debate. So a scientific consensus is treated …

Ceri Thomas defends the BBC coverage of climate change, writing: "it is important to hear other viewpoints about the extent of climate change and what should be done about it". That is a very laudable position for a public broadcaster in assisting public discussion about the options for taking action on climate change. However, I'm …

I feel sorry for Haruko Obokata, who has been found guilty of misconduct by her research institute in Japan (19 April, p 7) . Stem cell research is a high-stakes field and it is right that other scientists will seek to repeat work of such potential importance. But really, was she the only author on …

In his story "IPCC: Go big on clean energy and catch carbon", Fred Pearce highlights the societal, political and economic challenges of capturing, transporting and storing carbon dioxide emissions (19 April, p 9). In the final paragraph, he quotes Jochen Flasbarth as saying that "buried CO 2 is seen as almost as bad as nuclear …

I enjoyed Max Tegmark's article on consciousness, which argued that a conscious system must strike a balance between too little integration, such as a liquid, and too much integration, such as a solid (12 April, p 28) . I agree with his suggestion that consciousness is maximised near the phase transition between less and more …

Much is written on consciousness, but perhaps its basic essence is most understandable on an evolutionary neurological level. Presumably, the first vestigial senses of pressure, pain, sight, hearing and so on gave an evolutionary advantage. If more than one of these senses develops in an organism, and those senses can connect and work together, the …

In his letter, David Ray queries the role of patenting on innovation, suggesting that it may stifle the development of technology (19 April, p 33) . This may be so, but it is balanced by the fact that much technology may not have been developed without patent rights. In his 2010 book The Most Powerful …

Your article on atomic time for high-speed trading (19 April, p 12) is the latest of many such pieces about mathematical and technical innovations in financial activities presented as if they were improvements. Making money out of stock market fluctuations is a purely parasitic activity, sucking money from and destabilising the real economy. The so-called …

Is "strong" government really one of the factors that prevents war (19 April, p 28) ? How exactly do you define "strong"? Undemocratic, perhaps? Like most theories about war, the disproof can be summed up in one word: Switzerland. This is a small country that is highly decentralised, democratic, stable, prosperous and with four language …

I have never read such balderdash before in New Scientist . Michael Ramscar and Harald Baayen believe that cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of growing older (22 March, p 28) . But in order to build up their case, they are using the wrong tests and thus reaching the wrong conclusions. I have …

Michael Pawson congratulates himself on having advised women seeking to conceive to give up their high-powered jobs (12 April, p 32) . I know someone who was so advised, and gave up her job but didn't become pregnant. She merely had plenty of time to dwell on her grief, and not enough else to give …

On the subject of antigravity (19 April, p 34) , understanding the essential nature of forces that act at a distance, such as magnetism and gravity, must be one of the most exciting challenges in science. Gravity is very obvious in our everyday world, and because we are so accustomed to its positive pull, it …

Gareth Jones's emotive plea on behalf of unclaimed dead bodies (19 April, p 26) is completely unconvincing. Who cares about them? Certainly not the living, otherwise the bodies would be claimed. And certainly not the dead, for they are long past caring. Even if someone were to care during life, their wishes have no standing …