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Amid worries about energy price hikes, it is naive for anyone to think that the shift away from gas boilers to electrically powered heat pumps is going to save householders money on energy in the short or even medium term ( 12 February, p 12 ). Energy prices in the UK are set in a …

You report that some MPs are pushing hard to bring forward the ban on new gas boilers in England to speed up their replacement with air-source heat pumps and other systems within a couple of years. For these heat pumps, efficiency drops as the temperature falls and so the electricity demand rises . The electricity …

Amid debate about the location with the best record of the start of the Anthropocene epoch, it could be argued that it started in Australia some 50,000 years ago, in America 12,000 years ago and in New Zealand 700 years ago, when the first people arrived ( 29 January, p 14 ). In a geological …

Further to the observation of fairy wrens breeding out of season in Western Australia in recent years, since drought ended in Australia in 2021, we have had some of the wettest years for a while ( 15 January, p 25 ). It isn't uncommon for native species to bring up two batches of babies in …

You report that chimpanzees may be the first animals seen to apply insects to wounds, but there are a number of bird species that use ants to treat skin parasite infestations, exploiting the formic acid from their stings ( 12 February, p 10 ).

Your article says an ocean may be hiding under the ice on Saturn's small moon Mimas ( 22 January, p 18 ). Given the suggestion that water is sloshing around under the ice, is it possible there is a layer of gas between the ice and the liquid? If the minerals beneath were releasing gas, …

The International Garden Photographer of the Year competition ( 12 February, p 30 ) is organised by IGPOTY. Quick quiz (12 February, p 55): Titan, which is the second largest moon in solar system, orbits Saturn.

After your look at happiness and the letters on it, I have found the formula for the elixir of happiness: Happiness = 1/unhappiness.

The state of Earth in 2022 is indeed in crisis, but tinkering with the economy isn't the answer ( Leader, 12 February ). The elephant in the room that few people dare to mention publicly is overpopulation of the planet. This silence must change.

Geoff Harding ( Letters, 19 February ) fears for fertility in our polluted world. As a species, we seem incapable of restricting our encroachment on, and destruction of, all parts of the planet. Human sperm counts too low for fertility may be the best hope for a world that continues to be fit to live …