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You give an account of the life of artificial intelligence pioneer Walter Pitts, who died in 1969 ( 2 June, p 40 ). Several things suggest to me that he may have been someone with undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome. The condition was first named in 1944 , so that is not surprising. But can we be …

Douglas Heaven says EDVAC was the first stored-program computer. It was the first to be ordered, in April 1946, but was not delivered to the University of Pennsylvania until 1949 and only began operating in 1951. The Small-Scale Experimental Machine or "Baby" ran its first program at the University of Manchester, UK, on 21 June …

David Holdsworth questions the use of statins on the grounds that it may amount to choosing a probable death from cancer over a heart attack (Letters, 12 May ). But taking statins may be more like choosing cancer at 80 over a heart attack at 60. I had a serious temporarily fatal heart attack at …

In recent years we have learned much about our close relationship with the Neanderthals ( 26 May, p 44 ). They looked and behaved so like us that we would not blink if we passed one in the street today. They created cave art and their hyoid bone would have allowed them to produce recognisable …

Please leave our haldi doodh alone. Diss it and the aunties will come for you. Love, India Dhenuka Ganesh responds to the suggestion that turmeric latte ( haldi doodh ) may not be all it's cracked up to be ( 16 June, p 35 ).

Colin Barras discusses chimp evolution being shaped by sex with bonobos and describes them as "close relatives" ( 2 June, p 4 ). When I studied biology many years ago, I was taught that organisms belonged to the same species if, and only if, they could produce fertile offspring together. Horses can mate with donkeys, …

Clare Wilson discusses risks arising from screening for cervical cancer, and says it is caused by human papillomaviruses ( 2 June, p 20 ). Not all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Vaccinations, as amazing as they are, will not eliminate it. Without those facts, women can't evaluate the risks of testing. Procedures done after …

Your leader article states that "it's time we stopped dismissing women's health problems", with the cervical cancer screening programme as example ( 2 June, p 3 ). Under the UK National Health Service women receive HPV immunisation, contraception, antenatal and postnatal care and cervical screening. They are also screened for breast cancer, osteoporosis and, in …

Your excellent article on water starts off by saying that if it behaved like a normal liquid and became denser as it cooled, lakes would freeze from the bottom up, killing all the fish ( 2 June, p 26 ). But freezing kills living things because water expands when it turns to ice and hence …

• In less of a tizzy: the pulsar B1957+20 rotates a mere 600 times per second ( 2 June, p 17 ).