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Aaron Clauset's analysis of the incidence of wars between 1823 and 2003 leads him to question if we have turned the corner into a new era of peace ( 3 March, p 15 ). But he seems to disregard any of the radical societal differences that have undoubtedly occurred across his study period. Wars have …

Arran Frood describes intelligence services using large groups of ordinary people to try to forecast geopolitical events ( 24 February, p 32 ). Perhaps the spooks read the 1975 novel The Shockwave Rider , in which John Brunner describes "Delphi boards" that extract the wisdom of crowds . One passage goes: "First you corner a …

The chase is over, that's why they get fatter @IEatChawal greets news that couples tend to pile on more weight than singletons, despite healthier lifestyles ( 17 March, p 9 )

Marta Zaraska revealed how plants communicate by emitting chemical signals ( 17 February, p 32 ). She reported this being disrupted by emissions of ozone and nitrogen oxides from diesel vehicles and power stations reacting with the plants' volatile chemical signals. But what are the effects of insecticides, herbicides and pesticides? The decomposition products of …

Michael Marshall reports the discovery of Neanderthal cave art ( 3 March, p 16 ). There is an oft-repeated myth that Cro-Magnon cave art – and even symbolism itself – "exploded" onto the European scene in 40,000 BC. Rather than proving how the Cro-Magnons made this great leap forward in civilisation, perhaps it shows that …

Richard Kemeny discusses how big pharma might pay to access your genome ( 24 February, p 8 ). He is right that the era of the data economy is here. Organisations are desperate to collect, use and profit from our data. Kemeny is also right to highlight the chance for us to have some say …

I was intrigued by the reports of raptors propagating wildfires by moving burning sticks ( 13 January, p 4 ). However, I would not class this as tool use. It is better described as an advantageous modification of the animal's environment. This puts the raptors, I suggest, in the same category as burrowing owls, who …

• Gian Giudice, head of theory at CERN, has no doubts about the usefulness of the naturalness principle ( 3 March, p 30 ). • The graphene layers from which Pablo Jarillo-Herrero and colleagues are building superconductors are one atom thick and separated by less than 30 nanometres ( 10 March, p 6 ).

Having read your article on the pollution linked to making and washing clothing ( 24 February, p 36 ), I feel good knowing that the microfibres from my laundry are being flushed through my septic tank and out into a weeping bed. There they are added to the sediment 60 centimetres below the surface. With …

Following on from your article on fairer dice emerging in northern Europe about 600 years ago ( 27 January, p 14 ), I have a pair of antique dice from Turkey, of the variety with opposite sides that always add up to seven. I find that the number 1 face has a scoop with a …