Letters archive

Mark Harper invites us to get the health benefits of swimming in cool, wild waters ( 17 September, p 25 ). Many well-known members of Victorian society flocked to the spa town of Malvern in England to consult doctors, who prescribed cold-water immersion of one type or another. Charles Darwin had such belief in his …

It brings me joy to encounter the optimism of youth ( 10 September, p 27 ). The only statement that I disagree with in William MacAskill's article about ensuring a better world for coming generations, is that "a dystopian future is far from inevitable". My view comes after a lifetime of fighting for the exact …

IBM's quantum computer fridge is 100 times colder than space ( 17 September, p 18 ). In the study of links between the pandemic and premature puberty, pre-pandemic cases were found to occur at age 7.6, on average, compared with 6.8 during the covid-19 pandemic ( 24 September, p 8 ).

"Meat-free mutts and moggies" is an interesting piece that covers a detailed study by Andrew Knight and his team 24 September, p 44 . I think the simple answer to the question of whether dogs and cats can be healthy vegans is that we don't know. However, what a dog or cat eats is only …

While your article made a passing reference to insect-based food as an alternative to regular meat, but with a lower environmental impact, this deserved more focus. Insect-based foods, for example food made from black soldier fly larvae, seem far more suitable for pets than plant-based products, with a more palatable and more nutritionally complete profile.

You covered recent advances in treatment for insomnia 1 October, p 38 . I have two secrets for nodding off to share. When I was 8 years old, my older brother told me that complete relaxation in a darkened room for 5 hours is equivalent to 4 hours asleep. The important thing is to believe …

Thank you to Clare Wilson for a very clear account of the latest research in the nature versus nurture debate 24 September, p 36 . By the time my three kids hit their late teens, I concluded that their physical and psychological make-up was roughly one-third inherited, one-third due to the influence of family, friends …

I recall that all chemical processes in human brains – developing or developed, past, present and future – are subject to the laws of thermodynamics. That list would include gene expression, nutrition, neuronal and white matter growth and so on. Thermodynamics is a statistical description. In other words, it involves luck. That would indicate that …

Wilson's article on the role of randomness in shaping our children should be essential reading for parents and those who counsel them. It is a hard lesson to learn as we like to be in control.

I agree with Solitaire Townsend's call for green status signals, which are necessary to trigger behavioural changes that can address climate change 24 September, p 25 . I can see several hurdles that will need to be overcome. We must switch to a society where conspicuous giving and philanthropy are the main sources of status, …