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The search for alien intelligence by looking for Dyson spheres – vast theorised power plants built to encase and draw energy from a star – is inevitably doomed to fail ( 30 January, p 44 ). Any civilisation with such a high demand for resources and low respect for the environment is bound to collapse …

It seems to me that any civilisation needing to build – and capable of building – a Dyson sphere is unlikely to stop at one. The same drive to ever-greater exploitation of energy and other resources that a Dyson sphere assumes (rightly or wrongly), would also drive such a civilisation to colonise neighbouring star systems …

You report that a far less deadly version of the coronavirus will probably emerge naturally, because a relatively benign version in a living human can fulfil its objective to reproduce, whereas a deadly virus in a dying person is more likely to perish with its host ( 23 January, p 12 ). Would it be …

I was surprised that the research into parental burnout didn't seem to note whether the families involved were single parents ( 23 January, p 40 ). My experience is that sole parenting in Western cultures is likely to involve far more personal depletion, responsibility, work and often financial stress. It is possible that sole parents …

From 30 January, p 12 So someone whose views are moderated or downvoted on social media is more likely to become a conspiracy theorist? It seems clear to me that having your views suppressed could be construed as evidence of a conspiracy and that this conclusion isn't necessarily an irrational one. I stand by the …

Richard Webb's comment article made the case for free public transport in cities, but this isn't "free" because it needs to be paid for somehow and by someone ( 9 January, p 19 ). While the environmental considerations may well be fairly clear, apart from the Vienna experiment, Webb doesn't really address how such provision …

You report that the gains for the climate from greater use of electric cars are being cancelled out by the increase in SUVs ( 30 January, p 17 ). Maybe the reasons why more of the latter are being bought could be explored, especially given the ageing of the population. As an 80-year-old, what I …

It was interesting to learn that houseflies have specialised wings known as halteres that make them harder to swat ( 23 January, p 20 ). I find that a very successful way to catch flies in the house is by lowering a cup over them extremely slowly. The flies don't seem to be able to …

The Dutch study of body language imitation when lying only looked at the behaviour of men ( 23 January, p 20 ).

The quantum internet is getting ever closer, as entangled photons are now deliverable by drone, which could eventually allow encrypted communication to be impervious to hacking ( 23 January, p 18 ). It is a valid scientific aim to pursue this, of course, but it has downsides, not least by possibly letting terrorists communicate in …