Letters archive

8 October, p 24 Graham Lawton, we feel something of your loss of your beloved wife Clare; our hearts go out to you. On the subject of green funerals, my husband was a co-editor of the book Biochar for Environmental Management and says one good option is to pyrolyse a body to turn it into …

I was immensely moved by Graham's farewell to his wife Clare. So sorry for your loss, Graham, and for the terrible condition Clare faced. I was also so impressed that Graham could find the science behind this personal tragedy. I, too, would like a green, woodland burial. Even though I hope it is a way …

A good alternative to a regular burial, green burial or cremation is natural organic reduction. This digests bodies to create a nutrient-dense soil to enrich conservation land, forests or gardens.    

15 October, p 19 You report that international rugby union players face a higher risk of dementia than the general population. This may be naive, but it seems to me that the risk of brain injury in rugby players could be greatly reduced by requiring them to wear protective helmets, as they do in American …

Letters, 1 October Some letters have suggested that space exploration of various types shouldn't go ahead for financial or environmental reasons. There may be consequences to reducing NASA's remit that would make these aims futile. For one, the threat of unemployment for scientists and engineers. A country with ambitions for a crewed space programme could …

From Erik Foxcroft, St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK Stuart Clark's article on how magnetic fields may have shaped some of the largest structures in the universe was fascinating. I have often wondered about the role these fields might play at a smaller scale( 8 October, p 34 ). When a new star system is forming, could …

I appreciate the evidence behind doing so, but isn't the labelling of snacking as "dangerous" something of a generalisation? For people with certain illnesses, regular, filling snacks can be easier to digest than eating larger meals and can even improve health( Leader, 8 October ). I understand that the majority of the population has been …

Due to the calibre of successive UK governments, it is little wonder that energy bills here are going through the roof and that there may be power cuts this winter. UK energy strategy over the years truly appears to have been formulated at the Mad Hatter's tea party( 15 October, p 9 ). It is …

Denis Watkins writes that, until UK voters "elect members of parliament who are committed to the environment, little will change". This is certainly true, but those politicians must be held to their promises. When David Cameron's Conservative administration was elected in 2010, he pledged it would be "the greenest government ever". But Cameron didn't appear …

Your article is timely, but lacked detail on the role of hormone replacement therapy as a useful treatment for those experiencing low oestrogen during perimenopause and the menopause. There is good evidence that this treatment can improve sleep quality in such cases.