Letters archive

The measures we are being encouraged to take to avoid covid-19 are equally effective against influenza. Will there be fewer cases of flu this year?

You report that, in some countries, many new covid-19 cases can't be traced to their source of infection. A test exists for the virus itself, but is it also possible to deploy one for antibodies to the virus? Such a test would help detect transmission chains by revealing those who have recovered from covid-19. It …

Donna Lu concludes that though e-scooters are a disaster for cities, we must embrace them as a lesser evil than cars ( 29 February, p 25 ). I suggest they should be manufactured to emit a sound, such as a buzzing or whistling noise, when moving, so pedestrians know there is one coming up behind …

Readers' comments on highway design made me think of one of my little "soap box moments" (Letters, 22 February ). I have seen many grassed areas across which architects have laid attractive-looking walkways, only for the public to ignore these and take more expedient routes across the grass, creating muddy tracks. Would it not be …

Jessica Hamzelou reports on a bright teenager with half a brain who plans to go to university ( 15 February, p 10 ). The late John Lorber, professor of paediatrics at the University of Sheffield, reported several more extreme cases. The most striking was that of a young man whose hydrocephalus apparently meant that he …

Richard Webb notes a connection between "agency" and thorny concepts like free will ( 15 February, p 34 ). The problem of free will vanishes once it is accepted to be illusory. Webb details his decision not to adopt a puppy, listing internal, external and historical considerations that influenced it. This is always the way: …

A group of astronomers has called for legal action to stop the launch of vast numbers of satellites ( 8 February, p 14 ). They aren't the only people who should be concerned. Thousands of low-orbit satellites are being launched annually to provide universal secure internet services. But the carbon emissions of the rockets used …

You report on spiders' intelligence extending beyond their bodies ( 8 February, p 42 ). I have often wondered about this when watching orb-web spiders spinning their webs: they seem to use a leg to "measure" the distance between strands. I sometimes play hide-and-seek with black-headed jumping spiders – perhaps I have too much free …

Why do you use mean salary in your annual survey of science earnings? Most employees will probably earn less than this average figure ( 29 February, p 22 ). In 2019, the median income for full-time workers in the UK was £30,353 and mean earnings were £37,428 per year. A relatively small number of high …

• There was some understanding of silver's antibacterial action before work on flagella revealed a new mechanism ( 7 March, p 15 ).