Letters archive

You report on a study that says "peaceful" male bonobos may be more aggressive than male chimps. On behalf of the Australian branch of the organisation that has been the long-term sponsor of the Congolese trackers who follow, monitor and protect the bonobos referred to in the article, and having tracked and filmed these bonobos …

With reference to the gathering demographic problem of falling birth rates in many nations, I can see ramifications, such as the need to welcome young immigrants to places such as the UK, rather than trying to stop them, and a need to use robotics to fill labour gaps. Some countries may offer bonuses to families …

Andrew Scott is right about the need to promote ageing well over chasing greater longevity. I'm painfully aware that arthritis is a hindrance to successful ageing while at the same time viewed as inevitable for older people. Arthritis doesn't kill, it is just a gateway condition to things that do — dementia, cancer, stroke — …

I was fascinated by your article on the benefits of time alone, taking away some of the guilt I often feel when turning down social events in favour of a quiet night in. As an only child, I probably grew up spending more time alone than those with siblings running around. I wonder if this …

Heather Hansen's insightful article on solitude cites Robert Coplan's search for a new word for solitude-seekers, with "soloist" in the lead. As this is an existing word with a different meaning, why not use "solitudist"? Also, his neologism "aloneliness" for the feeling of being denied time alone could be bettered by "alonelessness".

You report that fish stocks in marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean Sea aren't recovering as expected, possibly because of poor enforcement. Now, where have I heard that story before? Ah yes, here in the UK where bottom trawling, an environmentally destructive kind of fishing, still takes place in many MPAs, according to the …

The story on odours of very young children and teenagers makes me wonder if researchers live in a bubble. I looked at the published study and they don't ever mention pheromones. The sweet smell of infants is, as they say, designed to promote parental affection. It is a pheromone. The musky smell of teenagers is …

Carbon capture and storage is a complete waste of time, money and effort. It can't work at the scale necessary to make any meaningful difference in the time available and consumes a lot of energy. We need to focus on what will make the greatest difference in the least time: a complete cessation of new …

Your list of key technologies for carbon capture and storage omits any mention of biochar. This is produced by pyrolysis of agricultural, forestry, garden or other organic waste materials in limited oxygen/air to produce something akin to charcoal. Most biochar is incorporated into soil, where it can lock carbon away for millennia. A recent report …

You posit that advances in the ability of artificial intelligence to do pure maths may "herald machines that reason and think like humans". While I agree that this will contribute to the ability of AI to reason and gain general level intelligence, it doesn't necessarily mean they will ever think like us Leader, 13 April …