On the future of the quantum computing field
From Larry Stoter, The Narth, Monmouthshire, UK
Karmela Padavic-Callaghan’s article was an interesting and refreshing look at the state of development of quantum computers. It struck me that an almost identical piece could have been written about fusion reactors, although those are always 50 years away, rather than five (15 August, p 18).
The two technologies have much in common: they are both funded by politicians who are afraid their countries will be left behind and investors who believe they will make huge amounts of money, for example. Neither group generally has any scientific or technological understanding of the subject.
We have been here many times before throughout history, from tulip mania in the 17th century to the more recent dot-com crash. Let’s hope that the quantum computing and fusion bubbles don’t spectacularly burst, causing similar damage.
From Mark Cargill, Alcester, Warwickshire, UK
Your report mentions the continually regenerating five-year horizon on progress in the quantum computing field, suggesting this gives only a quantum of hope that these computers will become useful. However, I remember the thrill of building (and making work) my first computer from a kit when I was younger. I hadn’t a clue how I was going to use it – just building it was enough.
Now, I use computers as a tool, and I don’t really understand or need to understand what is going on inside them. Perhaps the fact that quantum computers just work is sufficient for now, and we can philosophise all we want in the future – and perhaps use a fully functioning quantum computer to take our notes.
What do evolution insights mean for the platypus?
From John Kitchen, Kettering, Northamptonshire, UK
Fossil evidence suggests the ancestors of mammals were giving birth to live young 236 million years ago, far earlier than thought (22 August, p 13). But does that mean monotremes – animals like echidnas and the platypus – evolved in such a way that they later returned to laying eggs?
The potential harms of LED lighting
From John Lincoln, LightAware, Edinburgh, UK
I read your story about our lack of exposure to infrared light and the potential health consequences with interest. This was no surprise to us at LightAware, a charity campaigning for safe light for all. Many of our members struggle with the effect of modern lighting and digital screens on their health and wellbeing. People severely affected by LED lighting can include those with migraine, autistic people and other neurodivergent individuals, as well as those with dermatological manifestations of lupus and mast cell activation syndrome (15 August, p 30).
Although your article focused on the metabolic impacts of LED lighting, it can also disrupt the circadian system, which harms human health and can lead to skin problems in some. And, LED flicker can trigger headaches, migraines and ill effects for those with light-sensitive epilepsy. Unfortunately, your suggested incandescent bulb solution is impractical for many in the UK, as the government effectively banned them.
From Rosie Head, Oxford, UK
The article about red-light starvation is a bit mind-blowing! I’ve just bought a load of incandescent bulbs – expensive and not very easy to find.
We have been told for years to use low-energy bulbs that don’t give off heat, in order to save electricity. But in winter in higher-latitude areas, incandescent bulbs aren’t wasting heat – they’re warming our houses. Maybe we should be changing all our bulbs in spring and autumn: incandescent ones for the short days of winter, when we need the red light and the heat isn’t wasted; LEDs in summer when we don’t want any extra heat in the house and there is lots of red light out-of-doors.
A clearer picture of the optimal diet is emerging
From John Bell, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, UK
The study indicating that eating more protein than we strictly need could shorten our lifespans is such a welcome advance in understanding optimal human diets. Past advice, from calorie restriction and intermittent fasting to Mediterranean or keto regimes, has been bewilderingly contradictory (8 August, p 9).
This research offers tangible insights: fasting and reduced meat intake may converge on lower protein intake to promote cell repair. It also hints at metabolic reasons why calorie restriction works in smaller mammals, but not humans. I look forward to more studies that take things on from here, particularly any on whether exercise counters excess protein’s effects, and with human participants rather than rodents.
One key reason for McNish and Shackleton’s feud
From Don Locke, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK
Margaret Cuthbert’s recounting of the dispute between Ernest Shackleton and carpenter Harry McNish during their Antarctic expedition differs from that told in Wellington, New Zealand, where McNish died, destitute, in 1930 (Letters, 8 August).
In this version, Endurance had acquired a stray cat so devoted to McNish that the crew dubbed it Mrs Chippy – slang for carpenter – even after it turned out to be male. When Endurance had to be abandoned, Shackleton ordered that Mrs Chippy be shot. McNish never forgave him. Mrs Chippy is commemorated by an attractive bronze statue on McNish’s grave in Karori Cemetery, Wellington.
The Wild West that AI has created can still be defeated
From Daniel Dresner, University of Manchester, UK
Matthew Sparkes is right that AI might be making a “Wild West” out of cybersecurity. But hope can also be found by looking at much-loved Wild West tales: take The Magnificent Seven, for example, where the townsfolk bring in hired hands to defeat the bandits (22 August, p 14).
We should remember to honour the law of requisite variety: to be capable of dealing with the wide range of problems thrown at us, we need at least as varied a set of responses. If we all get involved, we will establish a socio-technical cybersecurity ecosystem. This can counter the cyber-insurgents that surround and live in our systems, whether they are run on artificial or human intelligence.
For the record
The sun and incandescent bulbs both emit red and near-infrared wavelengths (15 August, p 30).