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As a counsellor and psychotherapist, I have a different take on emotions. What would be the point of them if they weren't useful? We have them whether we like them or not( 10 May, p 30 ). Generally, we like the so-called positive ones and not many others. But they serve a major purpose, nudging …

If mechanochemistry can transmute chemical compounds by smashing them in a ball mill, perhaps the chemical precursors of life didn't arise in a warm tidal pool, but under rocks and pebbles compressed by geological forces( 24 May, p 38 ).

The impact of microplastics on animal brains – and probably human cognition – got me thinking, while I still can. While we are engineering our downfall with plastics, we may unwittingly be crafting a "solution": minds immune to microplastics, in the form of AI. Could we also engineer our way out of this conundrum? Or …

James Wong suggests tomatoes may do better when grown near basil. I found something similar, but different. When creating a veg garden, I thought I would test the companion-planting theory by growing basil and tomatoes – some near each other, some not. It wasn't a scientific study, but I found basil grew bigger when next …

You don't need complex research to find how to cut onions with no tears. When I chop them, I put my scuba mask on. Problem solved( 24 May, p 12 ).

Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt ( 7 June, p 27 ).

Quantum laws may well be at odds with the idea of free will, but the behaviour of complex systems can't always be predicted by the actions of their parts. The capacity for free will arises from complex interactions of brain cells that can't be divined from quantum theory( 7 June, p 8 ).

Calls for higher fees for car parking to cut urban vehicle use raise a question: what is the total value of parking real estate provided free to drivers? Streets in many places are full of cars parked at taxpayer expense. It is seen as a right. If I wish to take over a park or …

Presenting a gene-editing project as the "de-extinction" of the dire wolf confuses the true status of such a creation. Sadly, the threat of extinctions may eventually be made more acceptable by the offer of technology to "regenerate lost species"... for a price. Marketing such projects could be interpreted as offering profitable tech fixes as an …

Here is an addition to Melinda Wenner Moyer's parenting advice that you highlight in your review of her book, Hello, Cruel World! I was at the bookshop of Otago University in New Zealand in the 60s when a small child accidentally demolished a stand of books( 24 May, p 26 ). As the distraught mother …