Letters archive

I really liked the article on the possible instability in the Higgs field that may end the universe at any moment. If we are doomed, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we won't have any prior warning or feel a thing, as the end will arrive at the speed of light, …

I think most of the criticism of Australia's effort to ban social media for people under 16 is an example of the proverb, "The best is the enemy of the good" ( 23 November, p 15 ). Certainly, this proposal provides opportunities for improvement, but in the absence of something better, it is good enough. …

I doubt that banning children from using social media will be effective. We would reap far more benefit by banning politicians from accessing or using it.

Future Chronicles imagines a time when we use seaweed to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide. But there would be impacts from growing and then sinking many million tonnes of seaweed to the ocean floor ( 9 November, p 22 ). At the surface, the seaweed would take up nutrients otherwise used by phytoplankton. The result would …

I agree with much of "Recipe for disaster", but find the GM food good/organic food bad thinking perverse. Given the ample evidence that high-input farming is degrading land and ecosystems, it would seem that we need to be looking at some version of "GM-enhanced organic growing" to create a truly sustainable system ( 16 November, …

Am I alone in finding the lack of investment in something as seemingly essential or highly beneficial as GM food crops far from astounding? When we consider the lack of meaningful investment in combating major problems such as water pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss, it comes as no surprise. If there is no quick …

When it comes to calorie counts on menus as a nudge to eat more healthily, it is clear to me that a large proportion of calories in some meals are in the sauce. Restaurants don't mind showing the inflated calorie count because it doesn't deter the average customer. Having studied energy balance in obesity, for …

Having given birth to a daughter whose size and weight increased over the years, necessitating the use of a pram, stroller, trolley, cart and motor vehicle, I have always suspected that women invented the wheel. This was reinforced by my daughter's instinctive preference for any toy with wheels, and her invention of a skateboard carriage …

If chimpanzee communities are becoming more technologically advanced over time, why is it that after millions of years of existence all they can manage is to use sticks to fish for termites? Their tools may be biodegradable, but they don't make baskets, ropes or other things our ancestors probably did ( 30 November, p 13 …

Throwing more technology at football's video assistant referee system is the wrong approach to its perceived problems ( 23 November, p 40 ). Alongside football's fundamental character, which places human deceit above brute force (as Maradona described it), one of the arguably beneficial features of the game is the reliance on the judgement of its …