Letters archive

Reducing demand for energy is of course a good thing, but that doesn't address the question of how to provide for energy we cannot or do not wish to do without (21 June, p 32) . In future, rather than selecting off-the-shelf technologies, countries will increasingly tailor their energy supply to fit their circumstances. In …

Indeed, efficiency savings are no substitute for investment in robust, sustainable energy generation. But as our article points out, market-based mechanisms to smooth peaks in demand can help to reduce the cost of that investment – to everyone's benefit.

It's a pity that the UK government doesn't take energy reduction more seriously. We already have an efficiency-testing scheme for domestic appliances. Why don't sales taxes depend on these, as they do with cars? An A-rated tumble dryer could attract a 5 per cent sales tax, a B-rated one 20 per cent and so on. …

Adrian Williams and Robin Dunbar make a persuasive case for the probiotic effect of the tuberculosis pathogen in our evolutionary transition from a vegetarian to an omnivorous diet, and the increase in brain volume that accompanied it (21 June, p 28) . They propose that the pathogen served us by sustaining levels of a nutrient …

You discuss the ethical and legal issues arising from the creation of "three-parent" embryos by assisted reproduction (14 June, p 28) . A stated problem with this method is that changes made to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can be passed down through the generations. But there is a simple solution. As mtDNA is transmitted exclusively from …

It is disappointing to see opposition to mitochondrial transfer based on such flimsy grounds. The safety concerns raised are dwarfed by those faced by parents who go ahead and have a baby carrying faulty mitochondria. As far as the safety risks of pregnancy in affected women are concerned, they will also face these if they …

I read with interest your leader on telemedicine (14 June, p 5) . In 1905 in the Netherlands, Willem Einthoven used his string galvanometer to transmit a patient's electrocardiogram to a lab a mile away using a telephone line. Eighty years later, the Queensland government leased a transponder on the AUSSAT 1 telecoms satellite and …

I enjoyed your special report on the future of eating, but the article raised a number of issues (7 June, p 10) . The environmental and health benefits of substituting plant protein for animal protein seem incontestable. The downside is that this will further ratchet up the importance of high-tech manufactured food, further distancing the …

John Wallace makes the point that disease-resistant American chestnut trees might have been a more persuasive ambassador for genetic modification than Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans (21 June, p 30) . This touches on something at the heart of anti-GM sentiment. Many people, including those with a science background like me, are not opposed to GM …

Forgive me if I fail to share your joy in response to "whistle-blower" Edward Snowden's exposure of the US National Security Agency's surveillance techniques (21 June, p 5) . Of course we should be alert to the problem of overly intrusive governments, but by far the more serious threat right now is that posed by …

Derek Scherer's interview on making robots loveable reminded me irresistibly of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (SCC) in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (14 June, p 29) . Specifically, their attempt to give robots "Genuine People Personalities", which resulted in Marvin the paranoid android. I can only concur with protagonist Arthur Dent …

Ascension Island wasn't the only outpost of the British Empire to worry about its fresh water supply (7 June, p 24) . Gibraltar was parched too. Between 1898 and 1928, six reservoirs were excavated on the Rock of Gibraltar, and on the east side of the peninsula a water catchment area covered 5.6 hectares. Timber …

I was surprised to read UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate Howard Koch's claims that his is a science-friendly movement (14 June, p 32) . The UKIP website reveals only one science-related policy: a pledge to scrap wind-power subsidies and other green taxes . I might be forgiven for thinking that UKIP's science policy is as …

• Our leader on the human microbiome suffered a terminological failure. The idea that TB might have helped us evolve large brains is only a hypothesis (21 June, p 5) . • Ali Maalin was the last person to catch smallpox naturally (14 June, p 38) , however the final cases occurred in a lab …