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Several readers suggest coining a new name for autism in girls and women, given its differences to autism in boys and men( Letters, 3 May ). May I suggest an old one: Sukhareva's syndrome? Grunya Sukhareva's groundbreaking work on autism took place nearly 20 years before Hans Asperger's oft-cited work, and in the mid 1920s, …

You raise concerns over whether UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is advised by artificial intelligence, as the government uses it to summarise documents and possibly to prepare draft briefings. Its excuse for denying your requests to tell us more – that reviewing and summarising over 13,000 prompts used to elicit AI outputs was impractical – …

Your look at plans for radio telescopes and more on the far side of the moon, shielded from terrestrial electromagnetic clutter, was exciting. However, well before we commit resources to these endeavours, another short-term option is feasible. A radio telescope version of the James Webb Space Telescope, set in a synchronous lunar orbit over the …

Excellent article on how every generation thinks they are smarter than the one before. I agree with all this, but was given pause for thought when I read a recent post pointing out that in 1925, car owners' manuals advised you how to adjust the engine's valves. In 2025, they make no mention of valves …

Never overlook human urine's wonderful surfactant properties – the Romans certainly didn't when it came to doing their laundry. From my experiments, any textiles steeped at ambient temperature in a solution of fresh urine and rainwater (which is naturally soft) are cleaned amazingly well. After a cold rinse cycle, I couldn't detect any residual odour …

I am curious to know what will happen if my mind is melded to that of a bat, a prospect raised in Rowan Hooper's latest imagined history of future inventions. Will I fall in love with its mate, crave insects and become nocturnal and fearful of owls? Will I get motion sickness when its senses …

Graham Lawton's piece on the failure of governments and corporations to support climate action was sad, but unsurprising, reading. Perhaps the best way to encourage private individuals to take practical action is to lead by example: the people telling us what we should be doing could be seen to do those things. When will we …

Brandon Jutras's hoped-for trial of the antibiotic piperacillin for human Lyme disease may rely on finding a sufficient cohort of people who get an early diagnosis. Many don't, leaving them at risk of an incomplete treatment response. Moreover, it is concerning that the antibiotic primarily used now, doxycycline, could have been replaced with a superior, …

I share no glee in the story of a Peruvian farmer suing a fossil fuel firm. The logic of suing such companies for climate change damage is the same as going after arms manufacturers for deaths caused by their weapons. The person who pulls the trigger causing a death is the principal offender. The average …

Your report on the effect of air quality on school attendance highlights the possible impact of particulate matter on children's health. Another factor to consider is the carbon dioxide level in the classroom. Research indicates cognitive abilities can decrease by 15 per cent at 1000 ppm of CO 2 and potentially 50 per cent at …