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Your look at the lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic largely missed one crucial aspect – that lockdown was a perfect Petri dish for conspiracy theories and blatant untruths to spread and take root across online platforms, contributing to real-world harms ( 4 January, p 7 ). That lesson hasn't been learned; media literacy was …

One thing about the passing of time during the pandemic wasn't that the year of lockdown seemed longer or shorter than normal, but everything from before covid-19 felt like decades ago, even by 2022.

You covered a study that suggests Xenodens calminechari , a new species of mosasaurid named by us, could be based on a forged jaw fossil. We can confirm the authenticity of the fossil ( 25 January, p 21 ). Our team includes world experts in Moroccan mosasaurs. Having published 20 papers, described 10 new mosasaurids, …

Wearables meant to boost mental health sound like a nightmare. With these, I wouldn't be allowed to drift off to sleep thinking about what I want to think about – I plan the next day: where am I going for my walk, what am I having for dinner, etc. But that would bring a storm …

The pigeons in Aperture ( 25 January, p 26 ), clockwise from far left, are a Franconian Trumpeter, Danish Suabian, Old Dutch Capuchine, Gimpel (or Archangel) and Jacobin.

Like Bethan Ackerley, I am completely hooked by the TV drama series Severance . People I have discussed it with are mostly horrified by the concept of workers having their brains altered so their office/home life memories are strictly partitioned, but I confess that I can see the attractions ( 25 January, p 30 ). …

Even if depression isn't caused by low serotonin, as Joanna Moncrieff sets out in the book you reviewed, I am glad to see some researchers have pointed out that this doesn't mean SSRIs, drugs commonly used to treat it, are ineffective ( 18 January, p 28 ). In my view, the most obvious explanation for …

When it comes to the importance of our sense of smell, perhaps the majority of the taste of food and drink is predicated upon the aromas we experience before and during the act of consumption. This is why anosmia can lead to nutritional deficiencies, when all food seems too bland. In fact, one could argue …

Rocket launches are deemed environmentally OK if hydrogen is used as rocket fuel, because it doesn't add to the carbon dioxide burden. However, the world must cut the total energy it consumes, and so any non-fossil fuel, such as hydrogen, ought to be used to replace fossil fuels in everyday life, not for a new …

While the idea that the possible underlying structure of space-time could be to do with a strange geometric entity is fascinating, I suggest this raises another issue for many: the impossibility of comprehending the reality behind such descriptions ( 25 January, p 10 ).