Mind-melding with a bat raises many questions
I am curious to know what will happen if my mind is melded to that of a bat, a prospect raised in Rowan Hooper’s latest imagined history of future inventions. Will I fall in love with its mate, crave insects and become nocturnal and fearful of owls? Will I get motion sickness when its senses mix with mine? How will I perceive light polarisation and sonar? Will I get PTSD if it gets traumatised or killed? I definitely wouldn’t be one of the first to try it(10 May, p 22).
An explanation for the honest placebo effect
Since the effects of an illness are easily compounded by the psychosomatic pain of thinking it is worse than it actually is, there may be a reasonable explanation for finding that a placebo works even if you know you are taking it. Maybe just knowing a doctor thinks you are well enough to take a placebo rather than “real medicine” is enough to convince you that you are indeed better than you thought, thus reducing your stress-induced pain(5 April, p 20).
Why climate action by those at the top is vital
Graham Lawton’s piece on the failure of governments and corporations to support climate action was sad, but unsurprising, reading. Perhaps the best way to encourage private individuals to take practical action is to lead by example: the people telling us what we should be doing could be seen to do those things. When will we see parliamentarians personally contributing (maybe via a pay cut) towards the cost of insulation, solar panels and heat pumps for parliament, and more of them taking the train or a bike? How about corporations investing profits in solar and heat pumps for their premises? A lot of visible investment by our leaders might make us more inclined to follow(26 April, p 22).
Is current theory of dark energy beyond salvation?
I read “Time for a new model of the universe”, which reported findings on dark matter that throw our current cosmological model into doubt. Last year, I was at a meeting at the Royal Society. In summary, it found serious discrepancies in the theory of dark energy. This was a top-level meeting with many leading individuals in cosmology, from the past and present. It feels like the meeting never took place because the issues raised are being sidelined. Rather than deal with them, some cosmologists appear to be coming up with ever more ad hoc additions (new parameters, quintessence, thawing gravity, fifth force) to shore up a failing theory(10 May, p 8).
Trial of new Lyme drug might prove tricky
Brandon Jutras’s hoped-for trial of the antibiotic piperacillin for human Lyme disease may rely on finding a sufficient cohort of people who get an early diagnosis. Many don’t, leaving them at risk of an incomplete treatment response. Moreover, it is concerning that the antibiotic primarily used now, doxycycline, could have been replaced with a superior, safe alternative long ago. Better late than never, I guess(3 May, p 11).
Anyone who says they can spot a liar is probably lying
I enjoyed David Robson’s advice to the reader who worried about being gullible. He is right to point out that we are generally unable to tell if someone is lying in casual conversation. The reader might also be reassured by research showing that even those whom we might expect to be better at this, like law enforcement personnel, are equally hopeless even after supposedly science-based interrogation training. Operators of the non-scientific “lie detector”, or polygraph, test have also been shown to be mistaken 鈥� with both false positives and false negatives 鈥� so often as to make their conclusions virtually worthless(10 May, p 43).
Pursuit of fossil fuel firms in court doesn't add up
I share no glee in the story of a Peruvian farmer suing a fossil fuel firm. The logic of suing such companies for climate change damage is the same as going after arms manufacturers for deaths caused by their weapons. The person who pulls the trigger causing a death is the principal offender. The average person 鈥� with their SUV, 24/7 air conditioning and a new iPhone 鈥� is pulling the trigger in the case of fossil fuels. However, suing the energy producers will have a small, perverse benefit, as it will add to the cost of energy via fees to lawyers, slightly reducing our zeal to maximise energy consumption(3 May, p 21).
More reasons to worry about school air quality
Your report on the effect of air quality on school attendance highlights the possible impact of particulate matter on children’s health. Another factor to consider is the carbon dioxide level in the classroom. Research indicates can decrease by 15 per cent at 1000 ppm of CO2 and potentially 50 per cent at 1400. Following the distribution of CO2 monitors to English educational institutions, studies on levels of this gas have emerged. One in West Yorkshire found average classroom CO2 at 959 ppm over an academic year, with 4846 hours recorded at above 1500 ppm(10 May, p 19).
For lag-free comms, try spooky action at a distance
Martin Edwardes’s letter, about “laggy” communications in space, got me thinking. Is anyone working on using instantaneous quantum entanglement for this? Mars can be up to 22 light minutes away 鈥� a disaster for real-time exchange(Letters, 3 May).
Does this eerie glow help deep-ocean predators?
Apparently all living things emit an eerie glow that is snuffed out upon death. Presumably this also applies to deep-sea creatures that otherwise live in total darkness(17 May, p 11). The question is, can this faint light be perceived by predators at that depth, to help them find prey?