Join the conversation in 51¶¯Âþ's Letters section, where readers can share their thoughts and opinions on articles and see responses from experts and enthusiasts across a range of science topics. To submit a letter, please see our terms and email letters@newscientist.com
2 July 2025
From Bonita Ely, Sydney, Australia
I totally endorse the healing qualities of mucus. My doctor wasn't able to heal my persistent sore throat, so referred me to a specialist who said my throat was sensitive, not inflamed. So there was no treatment( 7 June, p 40 ). I discovered that if I swallowed the mucus in my throat, the irritation …
2 July 2025
From Carl Zetie, Raleigh, North Carolina, US
We should be grateful that AI companies aren't, in fact, on the brink of ushering in an era of "radical abundance". Based on all the evidence of innovations in technology over the past few decades, this wouldn't result in a "golden era" for humankind, but instead create more obscenely wealthy individuals overseeing crushingly powerful corporations …
2 July 2025
From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK
The article on new discoveries about cancer cells and nerve cells was very upbeat until near the end, when the pharmaceutical industry's reluctance to fund work on out-of-patent drugs was raised. I can think of no better argument for the creation of a state-owned drugs manufacturing industry( 14 June, p 30 ).
2 July 2025
From Dyane Silvester, Arnside, Cumbria, UK
Could the sauropod described as an "indiscriminate bulk feeder" have been the dinosaur ancestor of the labrador dog( 14 June, p 9 )?
2 July 2025
From John Grant, Caloundra, Queensland, Australia
May I hypothesise that a 51¶¯Âþ subscription invigorates the brain by stimulating curiosity, thus reducing mental ageing( 7 June, p 17 )?
9 July 2025
From Howie Firth, Elgin, Moray, UK
Does free will exist? A simple thought experiment confirms it, surely. If every action we make is predetermined by the laws of physics, then it is possible to imagine constructing a computer that could predict what I will do at a particular moment. When I hear that prediction, I am then able to do something …
9 July 2025
From John Maindonald, Wellington, New Zealand
Surely the reason Why Nobody Understands Quantum Physics , the title of a book you reviewed, is that attempts to describe and understand this part of physics in terms that make sense at the level of everyday experience are fraught. This shouldn't be a surprise – there is clearly a deep and mysterious substructure that …
9 July 2025
From Lyn Williams, Cilfrew, Neath Port Talbot, UK
In your look at the importance of the microbiome of the small intestine, you quote Gray Frost as saying that "most of these microorganisms are derived from the oral microbiome". In which case, maybe we should question the use of things like mouthwash( 21 June, p 40 ).
9 July 2025
From Agatha Windig, Rochester, New York, US
During the years that I was wearing hard, gas-permeable contact lenses, I had no problem cutting onions without crying( 24 May, p 12 ). It must be the iris and the pupil, in particular, that are affected by onion particles, right?
9 July 2025
From Keith Macpherson, Clevedon, Somerset, UK
Keep onions in the fridge and chop them while they are cold. It seems to do the trick to avoid tears.
