Letters archive

Chris Mooney asks science enthusiasts to "show us not just that science is cool and fascinating, but that science denial is destructive or even immoral" (7 June, p 26) . When I agreed to a request to write a chapter on "climate change denial" for a proposed book, I had no aspiration to transform the …

Mooney's article includes a phrase which to me epitomises the issue: "a greater valuing of scientific authorities". I think the issue is actually mistrust of authority, not mistrust of science. "Authority" implies unconditional acceptance. Why should people accept on trust the words of "scientific authority"? How many scientists accept unconditionally the statements of political or …

As a soon-to-be doctor, I read Tiffany O'Callaghan's article about the shifting understanding of the risks around paracetamol (acetaminophen) and the mounting concerns regarding its efficacy and side effects with great interest (31 May, p 34) . I was very surprised, however, by how much of the discussion into the dangers of paracetamol toxicity was …

It doesn't surprise me that paracetamol is linked to increased internal bleeding. While the drug itself doesn't interfere with vitamin K metabolism – vital to blood coagulation – one of its metabolites does interfere with the activities of enzymes dependent on vitamin K. So, in a sense, paracetamol has warfarin-like properties, and if we take …

My dad insists that paracetamol acts as a mild sleeping tablet. He knows that it's not good to take it regularly, but tells of others in his village who swear by it for a good sleep, every night. This regular off-label use of paracetamol may be an undocumented and widespread problem. Berlin, Germany

In your leader on the project to reinstate American chestnut trees in the US using disease-resistant genetically modified variants, you say "die-hard anti-GM campaigners are unlikely to hold back, given their resistance to projects that might help feed the world" (7 June, p 5) . This disappoints me as it suggests you believe anti-GM campaigners …

As a research scientist living in Scotland, I face a conundrum with regard to the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence (31 May, p 12) . If I vote "yes" there is the possibility of reduced funding from the UK research councils or their successors, given that Scotland receives a disproportionately high share of the UK …

From Martin Savage . I was interested to learn that summer downpours in southern England are predicted to be five times as frequent by 2100 (7 June, p 16) . However, your article neglected to include an important detail. Will these extra storms be in addition to the normal rainfall in the UK, or will …

The Met Office's report does indeed predict that despite the increase in intense downpours, there will be longer periods of drought in summer, and summers will become drier overall by 2100.

Your story on how bilingualism slows mental decline shows yet another benefit of learning a second language (7 June, p 14) . It also highlights the hypothesis that the benefit comes from the mental workout involved in choosing the correct expression. I believe an interesting test would compare these results with people who have learned …

At the age of 25, I learned to speak Russian; but at the age of 43 I was forced to learn Dutch while at the same time taking a crash refresher course to upgrade my schoolboy French. This was a result of moving to bilingual Belgium for work. I had no difficulty, and found learning …

Richard Dawkins mused that children should be taught that frogs do not turn into princes because it is statistically too improbable. Lisa Grossman, however, in her article describing the theory of infinite multiverses, states that "everything that has even a slight chance of happening is virtually certain to happen" (17 May, p 8) . I …

When I first read Ian Morris's article on the benefits of war I thought he was pushing our reality buttons or making a joke (19 April, p 28) . The US has been remarkably untouched by war, so from his office in California, war might seem theoretical, and therefore not so bad. But few other …

Using wormholes to send messages to our past sounds interesting (24 May, p 11) . The form of negative energy suggested as a way of keeping wormholes open – called Casimir energy – has been in discussion for some years now. Future scientists may well be waiting for us to open that first small and …

I read Graham Lawton's fascinating review of religious decline in the West (3 May, p 30) . May I offer an observation from the East? When I post an article using Western terms such as prayer and Christ-focused centering, I receive a torrent of sceptical headshakes explaining that science has disproved all that rubbish. But …

Rod Ward's discussion of English phrases rendered phonetically in French (7 June, p 30) brought to mind the apocryphal story of the motto of the French navy, which is said to read: "A l'eau, c'est l'heure." Cockermouth, Cumbria, UK

• We were left mopping our brows after printing a claim that koalas sweat (7 June, p 7) . They don't. • The legislative body created by the 1707 Acts of Union was the parliament of Great Britain (31 May, p 15)