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You report on the mystery of a radioactive zone beneath the moon's surface in the Compton-Belkovitch area ( 15 July, p 13 ). Evidence of past natural uranium nuclear reactors, moderated by water, has been found in Gabon. On the moon 3.5 billion years ago, when the last eruption of the volcano in that area …

I should state right at the outset that I am no physicist. I am a retired journalist and the written and spoken word is my area of expertise. But I read New Scientist because I am a science nut ( 8 July, p 30 ). So, I was amazed when I read Heinrich Päs's feature …

Almost every new technology has been met with disbelief, dismissal and doomsaying. But I have yet to read a cogent argument that the social impact of AI available now and in the near future will amount to much more than that of the steam loom or computer ( Letters, 15 July ). Yes, there will …

Your article on animal feelings suggests anthropocentrism could lead us to imbue animals with emotion. When an elephant in a circus screams while being beaten, only a Cartesian would fail to see that she is expressing emotion. So, too, when a cow chases the truck in which her calf is being taken away and when …

The tusks of male stink bugs in Tjaltjraak Boodja Park, Australia, are merely unusual ( 24 June, p 7 ).

Jasmin Fox-Skelly's exploration of the long-term impact of the placenta on health notes the genetic "conflict" between mother and fetus, but this doesn't factor in that the maternal and paternal chromosomes may express genes differently due to the phenomenon of epigenetic "imprinting" ( 22 July, p 40 ). Genes promoting placental growth may be highly …

We may not need to turn our backs on the use of electricity to cool buildings. In the 19th century, most Australian houses were designed with passive cooling in mind and, having lived in a couple, I can attest that it was reasonably successful. But we are in the 21st century and have solar panels …

Reading that crows and magpies, well known as the intellectuals of the bird world, have been using the anti-nesting spikes on roofs as nest-building material, I have to let you know that, near Weymouth, UK, the gulls have been doing this for at least four years ( 22 July, p 20 ). Respect!

There is no need to restrict a carbon tax to luxury goods. Access to utility and vehicle-use records, passports and international passenger information, as well as our financial records for an estimate of spending on goods, is within the grasp of authorities such that a reasonable reckoning of our mark on the planet is possible …

One reason to put crocks – scrap bits of pottery or polystyrene – into the base of a plant pot is that a relatively fine planting mix, for example for seedlings or cuttings, will fall through open drainage holes when dry or wash through when it is wet. The crocks can stop this. In addition, …