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Catherine de Lange discusses the hunt to understand consciousness ( 30 June, p 30 ). It may not be particularly tangible. Consciousness is associated with the information patterns carried by nerve signals. It is what information feels like when it reaches a certain kind of complexity. In artificial intelligence research, neural networks try to mimic …

De Lange's summary of consciousness studies could have been subtitled: "how to be conscious about thinking". Having a theory of mind –"I think that you think..." – is a well-understood concept applied to many social primates, including humans. Doesn't it also apply to our sense of self? If we hypothesise our thoughts and feelings in …

Roger Taylor suggests compiling a list of all the things that might be contributing to climate change (Letters, 25 June ). There is already such a list, and it also shows how to reduce emissions already in the atmosphere, with rankings, costs and benefits, in great detail. Paul Hawken's book Drawdown has a website at …

It's sad how secret miscarriages are, or how much they are viewed as a taboo Gachiru responds to the news that women have more miscarriages than live births over their lifetimes ( 4 August, p 8 )

Your interview with Anna Remington mostly does a good job of describing the strengths as well as the difficulties associated with autism, and helps counteract the negativity of much writing about autism and autistic people ( 14 July, p 32 ). But I am bewildered by the idea that it is the result of too …

Linda Geddes writes that around 50 per cent of the difference in intelligence between people is due to genetics ( 21 July, p 33 ). There is certainly a correlation, but correlation does not necessarily imply cause. Indeed, you took a different approach in an article on sexism, arguing that the cultural amplification of small …

You report a study finding that robots won't be taking our jobs ( 21 July, p 5 ). In our societies, where individual welfare is largely determined by having a job, the displacement of human jobs is an important issue. But the increased spending that is supposed to follow might not be a cause for …

Penny Sarchet discusses whether life may have originated in an ocean vent, a hot spring or a geothermal field ( 16 June, p 30 ). What about clay that consists of stacked, charged sheets? The distance between these varies with the amount of water and dissolved ions present, and they can separate completely in brine. …

Colin Foan suggests that smart electricity meters can reduce the problem of peak demand exceeding supply (Letters, 7 July ). This would be more directly true if the meters could communicate with smart appliances – for example, to ask your fridge to turn itself down for a while. The "smart" meters currently being rolled out …

• The planet 55 Cancri e is nine times as massive as Earth ( 21 July, p 38 ). • The crucifix ground beetle is extinct in many localities but not in the UK as a whole ( 28 July, p 28 ). • Odds off: in the long run, a 50:50 chance of a …