Letters archive

From Leader, 15 June Much of the backlash against "easy" weight loss via Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs comes from culturally entrenched moralising, people leaping to judge others as "lazy" or "greedy" and not deserving to lose weight if they don't "put in the work". The fact that these drugs are so effective shows that, …

From 22 June, p 40 I see with some alarm that you describe the New Horizons spacecraft as "plucky" – a term usually defined as having courage in the face of adversity. This seems to imply that the probe has acquired intelligence, can understand what it is doing and experiences human emotions. This isn't far …

From Letters, 22 June Robin Stonor asks why not throw rubbish in a volcano. On contact with hot lava, many materials would vaporise, causing explosions. Due to the lack of oxygen, plastics and organic materials would decompose, not burn – this would produce flammable and toxic gases, including greenhouse gases.

In salt sensitivity, each extra gram of sodium per day raises blood pressure by an average of 2.1 mmHg ( 8 June, p 32 ). A Kuiper belt object in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune completes two orbits of the sun for every three orbits the planet makes ( 22 June, p 40 ).

When it comes to our "cosmic perspective", there is one aspect of our existence that I find deeply significant. We are composed of matter and energy that has become capable of thinking about and describing matter and energy. Thus, through us and any other technologically advanced beings that may exist, matter/energy – and, by extension, …

The article "Digital damage?" misses the real danger to children from screen time – the extremely sophisticated marketing that sucks them into ruthless games that have no socially redeeming value. They are being purposely led deeper and deeper into a highly cloistered digital environment and away from being able to develop discrimination regarding how they …

You write about the singularity, the "infinitesimal point of infinite density" within a black hole. The concepts of infinitesimally small and infinitely large are extremely powerful in pure mathematics. But is their use acceptable in trying to model the physical universe? ( 15 June, p 32 ) At the centre of a black hole, the …

You outline research showing how varying stride length while walking helps burn more calories. However, it does more than that. It enhances muscle tone and overall fitness. This is the idea behind fartlek, a training method for runners. Practitioners vary their pace (and thus their stride length) while running through woodland or open country, switching …

You raise the idea of paying people to lose weight. Use of financial incentives isn't new. American football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry had a clause in his contract with the Chicago Bears stating he would be penalised if his body weight went above a certain level ( 29 June, p 12 ).

When it comes to obesity, some people claim healthy food costs more. This is false. I cook all my food, mostly vegan, and it costs just a fraction of what most people spend on their unhealthy food.