Letters archive

Reading Leah Crane's article on the uncertain future of the International Space Station ( 6 October, p 24 ), I noticed that nowhere was any reference made to the scientific experiments that are being carried out on board the ISS. The exception was an oblique reference to the skill sets of Russian crew members, which …

In comparing the opinions of economists with those of the general public, Pascal Boyer makes an interesting point ( 22 September, p 40 ). But from there he works on the assumption that the economists are right. As a scientist, I prefer to use observation rather than opinion in my work, and the 2008 global …

The world's economy does not function, and in fact has never functioned, as Boyer imagines . There cannot be free trade when there is manipulation by governments to lower the value of their currency, giving their nation a competitive advantage that is not reflected in the real cost of production, or the quality of their …

Someone involved in the naming process is cackling every time they read about this @_TinaD is delighted, as many were , by the revelation that moons can have moons and they are called moonmoons ( 20 October, p 10 )

I.Glenn Cohen and Alex Pearlman rightly discuss ongoing concerns about the ownership and use of data from devices such as smart pills and medical devices ( 29 September, p 22 ). But equally of concern is the almost total lack of "baked in" and properly audited security in the storage, extraction and transmission of the …

The impact of electric cars raised by Roy Harrison focuses on sources of electricity to charge their batteries ( Letters, 6 October ). But the true impact will be seen when there is a substantial number of them, in the congestion they create. Will their drivers feel entitled because of the lack of pollution at …

Catherine de Lange mentions V.S.Ramachandran's work on Cotard syndrome, in which people believe they are dead, and Capgras syndrome, the belief that loved ones have been replaced by impostors ( 29 July 2017, p 40 ). Who is to say they are wrong and we are right?

• The actor who plays the lawyer in War with the Newts is Everal A. Walsh ( 13 October, p 48 ).

Fred Pearce speculates on whether a present-day journal would publish a paper submitted by a janitor with no formal education, like James Croll, discoverer of how ice ages happen ( 25 August, p 34 ). Philip Stander, the author of Vanishing Kings: Lions of the Namib desert , collaborated with the Ju/'Hoansi people of north-eastern …

Marjorie Meldrum asks about species that rely on mosquitoes as a food source, posing a downside to eradicating them with a gene drive (Letters, 6 October ). As far as I know, there are none. Some bats eat them, but don't rely on them. The editor writes: • Mosquitoes and their larvae are a significant …