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12 December 2018
From Craig Gosling, Indianapolis, Indiana, US
Tom Chivers rebuts claims by surgeon Roger Kneebone that students lack manual dexterity because they spend too much time with flat screens ( 10 November, p 25 ). When I was at the Indiana University School of Medicine in the 1970s and 80s, we built patient simulators to enhance the examination skills of medical students, …
12 December 2018
What if the other side thinks WE'RE the dark matter? Kelly Reay develops the idea of particles crossing to our world opening a portal to a dark-matter realm ( 1 December, p 36 )
18 December 2018
From Andrew Vickers, Quernmore, Lancashire, UK
Alice Klein quotes Mark Nieuwenhuijsen of the Barcelona Institute of Global Health in Spain reminding us that we have forgotten that cities are meant to be for people, not cars ( 27 October, p 22 ). Please don't forget rural areas. Pollution may be less of a problem here, but we don't have pavements or …
18 December 2018
From John Watson, Darlington, County Durham, UK
The hosting of the UN climate change conference by the coal mining town of Katowice, Poland, and its sponsorship by coal firm JSW highlighted the economic dependence on coal in such countries (Leader, 8 December ). I do appreciate the importance of ultimately stopping the use of fossil fuels, but suggest that an interim step …
18 December 2018
From Derek Knight, Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire, UK
Do solar panels not have their part to play in changing domestic heating to combat climate change? They may not be the most efficient energy source in northern countries such as the UK, but at least they completely substitute carbon dioxide-producing fuel. I have had 16 panels installed, and find that the saving in electricity …
18 December 2018
From Ed Subitzky, New York, US
Madeleine Finlay discusses the presumption that there are two types of decision-making ( 17 November, p 38 ). My type 1 system (fast and intuitive) believes that type 1 and type 2 systems do exist. After reading the article, my type 2 system (slow and analytical) isn't so sure.
18 December 2018
From Frank Hollis, Small Dole, West Sussex, UK
Writing about diet supplements, Linda Geddes says that water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored ( 1 December, p 30 ). Vitamin B12 is water soluble, but it is stored , mainly in the liver. The amount stored can be enough to satisfy the body's needs for years. This is one reason why a vitamin B12 deficiency …
18 December 2018
From Chris Good, Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK
Alice Klein and Chelsea Whyte say that even the fanciest fake festive tree is going to be sorry-looking in 20 years, the point at which they have an ecological advantage over real trees ( 1 December, p 22 ). We bought our fake tree well over 40 years ago and it is still very presentable, …
18 December 2018
From Ralph Hancock, London, UK
I'd be wary of wishing people a " Green Christmas ". An old proverb has it that "a green Christmas means a full graveyard". Mild weather at Christmas will, in other words, be followed by a spell of killing cold.
18 December 2018
From Barry Hill, Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK
At the end of an interesting article on spiders' maternal behaviour, you state that milk secretion is exclusive to mammals ( 8 December, p 20 ). Another non-mammal that certainly has glands that produce brood food and feeds this to its young is the honey bee. You can buy "honey bee milk" as "royal jelly".
