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The spread of disinformation by social media has the potential to destroy rational thought and judgement. Every child should be taught that consumption and acceptance of demonstrably incorrect information is tantamount to contamination of the most important organ in the body, the brain, with potential negative consequences( 16 September, p 36 ). How to filter …

The fundamental truth is that open, uncensored debate is still the best way to expose and defeat falsehoods.

In your report on the potential for mass deaths in heatwaves provoked by climate change, two experts quoted seem to downplay the risk because "even if it's hot outside, it doesn't mean that it's hot inside" and "all heat-related impacts on human health... are preventable". These are true to an extent, but fail to account …

Of course we need to be concerned about hotter conditions, but we should be more worried about another facet of climate change. It seems to be generally accepted that 2 metres of sea level rise is unavoidable, yet we don't seem to be fully considering what that will mean, especially for low-lying nations. And will …

Biophobia may stem from many sources. In the 1970s, we became dependent on prepacked food, supermarkets, microwaves and takeaways. In recent years, gardens have become manicured, with conservatories, ornaments, decking and non-native plants – in other words, with little that is truly natural. Horror films often feature a dark, sinister forest or other isolated wild …

In our report on restoring US prairies ( 16 September, p 41 ), we should have quoted Shannon Eddy, director of the Large-scale Solar Association, on land-use changes on the opening page. In addition, the caption with the Daphne Prairie Preserve image should have referred to a planned solar facility near prairie land outside Mount …

What I do is influenced by external events, not controlled by them. For instance, I can decide what to do based on a coin toss and no amount of physics could predict how that will turn out. If I decide what to do without tossing a coin, the outcome is still influenced by chance. This …

Your article claims that some people worry about judging criminals unfairly if there is no free will, meaning their crimes were predetermined. But if the crime was predetermined, then so is the judgment. Worry not, determinism isn't something that just happens to other people!

The critique of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak's watering down of climate policies was well received, particularly in conjunction with the interview in the same issue with Simon Sharpe on how to speed up decarbonisation ( p 37 ) ( 30 September, p 13 ). Sunak's stance can be countered with a simple piece of …

William Hughes-Games asks why politicians haven't done more to stop climate change. Being a local politician, I can offer some insight. Most politicians are "people persons". They aren't versed in science and some even prefer gut feelings above facts. As a scientist speaking to a politician, you don't want to explain a problem in all …