Backyard black hole idea is exciting and frightening (1)
It is certainly an appealing concept that the universe may be teeming with primordial black holes, maybe explaining the missing mass in the universe without having to resort to dark matter 3 April, p 34. Even more appealing is the idea that one may be residing in our outer solar system.
What is less appealing is the thought of what might happen if something perturbed its orbit and it plunged, comet-like, into the sun. I’m no physicist, but I’m thinking that wouldn’t be a good thing.
Backyard black hole idea is exciting and frightening (2)
This article was fascinating and maybe alarming. Surely, if there is one black hole in the outer solar system there could be two? What if they collided? Would Earth bounce about like a ping-pong ball? Shouldn’t we be told? Has anyone bought the film rights?
Can using flu vaccine help buy time in a pandemic? (1)
Your article on the role of the innate immune system in fighting infections suggests that the standard winter flu vaccine could significantly reduce the impact of covid-19 3 April, p 40. In the UK, the winter flu vaccine is routinely offered to people over 60 or with underlying health conditions and yet it is these groups that have been most seriously affected by covid-19.
Are the researchers suggesting that mortality and serious illness would have been even worse without the flu vaccine or is this a potential flaw in their argument?
Can using flu vaccine help buy time in a pandemic? (2)
In Graham Lawton’s excellent article about innate immunity, the claim by researchers that mass influenza vaccination at the onset of the pandemic would have bought us time is reported. Convincing supporting evidence is cited from the health records of hospital staff in the Netherlands.
There is a natural experiment waiting to be analysed in the UK on this question. Care home residents suffered a terrible toll, and presumably a large number of them were exposed to the virus whether or not they succumbed. Presumably, many of them were over 65 and had had their usual annual flu jab. What’s more, there will be accurate records. Has anyone crunched the numbers?
Religious take on quantum reality isn't for everyone
Carlo Rovelli’s contention that objects only exist when they interact with other things brought back memories of George Berkeley’s theory of knowledge 13 March, p 36.
Berkeley’s philosophy work led to the disturbing conclusion that objects would leap in and out of existence depending on whether or not they were being perceived. He overcame this by positing God as an omnipresent co-perceiver: when you stopped perceiving something, then God kept on doing so, guaranteeing the continued existence of objects.
The religious can still make use of this solution if they want, but the rest of us require something more.
No need for careful aliens to ruin their planets
Alien planets should be safe from global warming as long as their economic system accounts for and costs out the consequential effects of their actions 10 April, p 12. Sadly, although we reached the moon, our planet is in thrall to a hominin that seems incapable of counting beans.
My vote is for life to be extremely rare
In the preamble to the interview with Tanja Bosak, you say that if it were discovered that life had never gained a foothold on Mars, this would be deeply mysterious 10 April, p 46. I don’t think that it would be mysterious. What is mysterious is how life got started on Earth.
As Bosak says, finding no hint of life having existed on the Red Planet would tell us that something else is needed for it to get started besides a nice environment. I think that is the case 鈥� either some sort of intelligence, or incredible luck.
Could there be hidden costs to vanilla dreams?
While the idea of developing new varieties of vanilla is interesting, it raises wider socio-economic and environmental issues 3 April, p 46. Improving genetic diversity in this crop is to be applauded, but much of today’s vanilla production occurs in relatively poor regions of the world where it is a valuable cash crop. Will these farmers be able to afford the new varieties?
The world’s largest vanilla-producing area is the Sava region of Madagascar. New varieties could reduce the price of natural vanilla. This may seem like a good thing to chefs in high-income countries, but if the Malagasy farmers can’t manage on lower prices, will they instead turn to illegal logging, already a major issue in Madagascar?
Hydrogen must be part of our greener future
Although there are still some detractors of the idea of a shift to hydrogen-powered vehicles, countries around the world are building infrastructure for this, with most major economies announcing hydrogen strategies 3 April, p 15.
Your article reports that such a move in the UK would be less efficient than a shift to just electric vehicles, but when has inefficiency been a bar? Consider the inefficiency in the production of fossil fuels. However, due to their availability, convenience and flexibility, their various forms have served us well for centuries.
Hydrogen has many advantages and some disadvantages compared with batteries or other forms of storage. To stand a chance in our fight against climate change, I firmly believe we will need all solutions.
Artificial reefs are the enemy of trawlers, too
Scott McNeil’s comment on using “materials of opportunity” such as rigs to make artificial reefs to encourage fish recovery is laudable Letters, 3 April. I would point out an additional benefit: they can make an area unsuitable for trawling, protecting the seabed from one of the most destructive fishing practices.