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Will my tea cool more quickly if it is left out at room temperature, or if my hands are cupped around the mug? Will my tea cool more quickly if [...]

This article discusses the question of whether tea cools more quickly when left out at room temperature or when the hands are cupped around the mug. The consensus among the experts is that wrapping your hands around the mug will extract more heat from the tea, as hands are better conductors of heat than air. However, hands also act as insulators, so keeping them in place may slow down the cooling process. Alternately wrapping your hands around the mug and cooling them in the air may help cool the tea more rapidly. The article also explores different perspectives on the topic, including the role of perspiration and blood circulation in transferring heat energy away from the tea. Additionally, it suggests that cupping the hands over the top of the mug, rather than around the sides, may reduce energy loss through evaporation and convection. Overall, the article highlights the complexity of the question and suggests that further experimentation is needed for a definitive answer. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of letters from readers published in New Scientist. The letters cover a range of topics, including the idea of terraforming Mars, the impact of screen time on children, the taste of the dodo bird, the classification of human and post-primate species, fairness in sports, the benefits of domestic work for exercise, the direction of time, weight-loss medication for children, the concept of artificial intelligence, and the potential of kangaroos to reduce livestock methane emissions. The letters offer diverse perspectives on these subjects and provide insights for further exploration. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of letters from readers published in New Scientist. The letters cover a range of topics, including the emergence of self-replicating virtual life forms, the possible existence of posthumans running simulations of evolutionary history, the origin of life in ocean hydrothermal vents, psychological barriers to exercise, alternative methods of storing renewable energy, the arrival of humans in South America, aviation safety over oceans, the delay of the ITER fusion reactor project, and the influence of lifestyle choices on brain aging. The letters provide diverse perspectives and raise interesting questions for further exploration. [Extracted from the article]

At last, a politician who makes hard decisions 17 June, p 21 From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK I would like to thank you for your decision to [...]

This article discusses the impact hypothesis for the formation of the moon and its implications for life on Earth. According to the hypothesis, a Mars-sized planet called Theia collided with proto-Earth, resulting in the formation of the moon. Without the moon, Earth would be bigger and have a different mass. The moon's presence is believed to have played a role in the development of life on Earth, particularly through its influence on tides. However, there are other factors that make life possible on Earth, such as the presence of liquid water and a strong gravitational field. The article also explores the potential effects of a less massive Earth on the escape of gases from the atmosphere. Overall, the article presents different perspectives on the importance of the moon for life on Earth and raises questions about the origins of life and the future of our planet. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the topic of bicycle lights and their effectiveness in ensuring visibility and safety for cyclists. Different perspectives are presented, including those of long-distance tandem cycle tourers and motorists. The cyclists argue that disruptive lights with irregular patterns and high brightness are the best, while motorists express concerns about the intensity and direction of the lights. The article also touches on the importance of reflective ankle bands and clothing for cyclists. The second part of the article briefly explains the science behind the loud noise produced when cracking knuckles. [Extracted from the article]

Maybe a dose of rule by logical AI is what we need Letters, 20 May From Barry Cash, Bristol, UK I don't understand why people are worried about artificial intelligences [...]

23 March, p 46 From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK I greatly welcomed Richard Fisher's article on far-sighted thinking for its clear explanation of why most governments of [...]

This article is a collection of letters from readers discussing various topics. One reader argues that if our experience of reality is a simulation, then the "self" must be part of the simulation. Another reader suggests that theories like quantum mechanics and wave mechanics may not provide useful information about fundamental reality. Another letter discusses the concept of eco-anxiety and its connection to climate change. One reader proposes that parental overuse of smartphones, rather than children's use, may contribute to increased anxiety in young people. Other letters explore the benefits of solitude, the role of language in human childhood, and the different theories of reality. Lastly, there are letters discussing the challenges and potential solutions related to falling birth rates and an aging population. [Extracted from the article]

18 February, p 18 From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK Your story on using moon dust to create a sunshield for Earth implies that the 1 million tonnes [...]

This document is a collection of letters from readers published in New Scientist. The topics discussed include the possibility of artificial intelligences having empathy, the overlooked concern of sports-related concussions, the harmonic intervals in music, habituation to the dire state of the world, the removal of microplastics from tap water, the limitations of exercise as a treatment for post-viral conditions, and the use of tree staking in urban environments. The letters provide diverse perspectives on these subjects, offering insights and raising important questions for further exploration. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of letters from readers published in New Scientist. The letters cover a range of topics, including personal experiences with glucose monitors, theories of everything and abstract geometry, the origins of asteroids, exercise therapy for long covid, the limitations of ancient Greek engineering, the mystery of consciousness, brain changes when playing musical instruments, the impact of climate change on extreme weather events, the subjective nature of tedious tasks, the importance of cars in rural areas, and contact information for submitting letters to the magazine. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of letters from readers that were published in the New Scientist. The letters cover a range of topics, including concerns about the use of "unlimited" resources, the true cost of owning a car, the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, the need for diverse perspectives on the future of artificial intelligence, the potential survival of economic systems in the distant future, solutions to the shortage of science teachers, the definition of the Anthropocene, the dark sky reserves in New Zealand, and the need for drastic power consumption cuts. The letters provide different viewpoints and perspectives on these issues, offering readers a diverse range of opinions to consider. [Extracted from the article]

I agree, non-native plants can be a boon 30 September, p 44 From Stephen Head, Cholsey, Oxfordshire, UK lames Wong casts his habitual common sense on the issue of native and non-native garden plants. Why the Wood Age won't quite cut it 30 September, p 14 From MarkKaminsky, Sunnyvale, California, US The stoiy "Earliest evidence of wood buildings" ends by saying "we might need to rethink our labelling of the Stone Age", that it was maybe "more of a wood age". Dancing fruit and nuts have a long history 7 October, p 17 From Dave Appleby, Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK Your article reports research about nuts and raisins "dancing" in carbonated liquids. [Extracted from the article]

Views Your letters On the vexed question of the existence of free will 30 September, p 32 From Michael Elstob, Bellingdon, Buckinghamshire, UK Agency alone isn't enough for free will. From Richard Taylor, Guildford, Surrey, UK Your article claims that some people worry about judging criminals unfairly if there is no free will, meaning their crimes were predetermined. From Frank Webster, Guildford, Surrey, UK Debating free will, or the lack of it, by reference to neuroscience is a category error. [Extracted from the article]

David Marlin Equine exercise physiologist, Cambridge, UK Horses are herd animals. When a horse finds itself surrounded by other horses all intent on running in one direction, its simple instinct is to respond to the "danger" pursuing them and to strive not to be that final doomed straggler. "Wild horses are herd animals whose main defence against attack by predators is to run. [Extracted from the article]

Summon the turtles in the fight for clean rivers 12 August, p 36 From Jonathan Spencer, Winchester, Hampshire, UK; Justin Gerlach, Cambridge, UK; and Harvey Tweats, Trentham, Staffordshire, UK With rivers polluted by sewage, frequent drought amid climate change, associated fish deaths, organic waste and low oxygen levels all adding to the woes facing UK rivers and other water bodies, natural measures to address the worst impacts are surely going to become of increasing importance. Editor's pick Healthy scepticism over complementary medicine 9 September, p 22 I share Clare Wilson's scepticism of complementary medicine, "superfoods" and magical thinking, but the World Health Organization (WHO) summit on alternative therapies was justified. The UK's once-native turtle (Emys orbicularis) was lost several thousand years ago and is known only from one fossil site in East Anglia. [Extracted from the article]

Editor's pick The moment is upon us to change tack on the climate 24 June, p 8 From Michael Graham, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK As Madeleine Cuff reports, 2023 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record: global warming is being exacerbated by El Niño conditions and the temperature of the oceans is particularly alarming. 17 June, p 44 From Cos Harnasz, Budapest, Hungary James Wong describes the detrimental effects of caffeine on plants as a result of putting used coffee grounds on the soil of one's garden. Ancient Egyptians tried "new" cancer treatment 24 June, p 40 From Alex McDowell, London, UK Fighting cancer with bacteria predates even William Coley's work of the late 1800s. [Extracted from the article]

Editor's pick At last, a politician who makes hard decisions 17 June, p 21 From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK I would like to thank you for your decision to give space to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the London Ultra Low Emission Zone. AI could relieve us of so much pointless work Letters, 20 May From Dan Plant, Solihull, West Midlands, UK In response to the idea that artificial intelligence may take our jobs, leaving people unable to earn money by working, surely this is the only purpose of AI? So wonderful to see maths brought to life 10 June, p 44 From Colin Wright, Wirral, UK I have just read your article on the maths of efficient packing. [Extracted from the article]

Water won't flow smoothly between the fingers due to their boundary layers, which act like invisible webbing, thus increasing the effective size of the hand. Even though the surface area may be similar, your individual fingers are more "aqua-dynamic" than the flat paddle that is formed by fingers held tightly together. David Muir Edinburgh, UK Fluid dynamics can be counterintuitive due to the effects of boundary layers. [Extracted from the article]

Editor's pick Time to widen the hunt for solution to dietary crisis 29 April, p 46 From Sieglinde Kundisch, Umeå, Sweden I was very excited to see the interview with Chris van Tulleken about ultra-processed foods. My article "Current Debates over the teaching of phonics", published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education in 2022, provides copious evidence for two main conclusions: systematic phonics teaching is effective for teaching children to read and spell in English, and the combination of systematic phonics teaching and whole language teaching is probably more effective than either alone. 25 March, p 38 From Derek Bolton, Sydney, Australia Thomas Hertog likens the evolution of physical laws to Darwinian evolution, with "quantum observation" playing the role of selection. [Extracted from the article]

Editor's pick Ideas on the meaning of cave art hand stencils 18 March, p 38 From Greg Watson, Albany, New York, US You report that prehistoric hand stencils on cave walls with various digits missing could represent a sign language. From Linda Dawe, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK The cave stencils look like tic-tac hand signals used by bookmakers to communicate betting odds at race courses to me. My granddaughter learned sign language before she could talk, and the recent television series Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins showed hand gestures that were identical among chimps, bonobos and human toddlers. [Extracted from the article]

Gautam Menon Bryn Glover Bruce Denness Jo Spencely Joseph Ting Naomi Jacobs Robert Cluck Guy Inchbald Alan Walker John Fewster Editor's pick Excited by possibilities of electrical medicine 25 February, p 38 From Gautam Menon, Walsall, West Midlands, UK The role of cellular electrical signalling in depression, stress and anxiety has been a topic of research, but it was fascinating to understand how cellular voltage patterns can facilitate cancer cell propagation and how ion channel blockers can potentially mitigate against this. At our design-led research centre, Imagination Lancaster, for example, we have a number of projects that include speculative design and design fiction: the process of considering multiple possible futures through scenarios or even prototypes of imaginary objects, systems and policies. Future thinking is well and truly here already 25 February, p 27 From Naomi Jacobs, lecturer in design policy and futures thinking, Lancaster University, UK Ray Nayler suggests that legislators and policy-makers should learn from speculative fiction writers in considering impacts of emerging technology. [Extracted from the article]

B True value of clean rivers is far bigger than we think b I From Paul Whiteley, Bittaford, Devon, UK i You say that £870 million a year is the supposed beneficial impact on the UK's health thanks to rivers and lakes encouraging physical activity and relaxation. B All hail energy saving, now let's look at water b I From Maria Felice, Bristol, UK i I thoroughly enjoyed reading your feature on the 2000-watt energy-saving challenge(11 February, p 36). I From Gethin Bermingham, Lancaster, UK i Jacobson makes the point that we will only achieve our climate goals on the short timescales necessary if we use existing technologies. [Extracted from the article]

On the idea that there is a mirror universe 28 January, p 38 From Ray Cannon, Camberley, Surrey, UK Since antimatter is identical to matter flowing in the opposite direction through time, my assumption is that the mirror universe is filled with antimatter. Editor's pick Long-haul flights can be justified in climate fight 3 December 2022, p 28 From Shawn Charland, Ottawa, Canada I was interested to read about Graham Lawton's life-affirming trip to see research work in Uganda. Mars study provides a welcome alternative 7 January, p 13 From Natalie Roberts, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK You report that a small base of six people at the Martian poles could support themselves energy-wise with a combination of solar power and well-placed wind turbines. [Extracted from the article]

The article titled "Degrowth is key" discusses the importance of economic degrowth as a topic that humanity needs to address. The author suggests that degrowth should be considered alongside climate change as one of the most important issues. Another letter acknowledges the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine, emphasizing the need to recognize the background of oppression faced by Palestinians. Additionally, the article highlights the oppression of other groups, such as the Kurds, and calls for more coverage on their politics and the reasons behind their oppression. [Extracted from the article]

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles including an article on the Anthropocene epoch in the September 3, 2016 issue, an article on deaths related to codeine in the January 7, 2016 issue, and an article the relation of the brain to physics equations by Richard Webb in the December 10, 2016 issue.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles published in previous issues including Alison George's description of cave art symbols in the November 12, 2016 issue, southern U.S. culture in the November 12, 2016 issue and loss of Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (ABSL) in the November 5, 2016 issue.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to topics in previous issues including data and artificial intelligence in the October 29, 2016 issue, statistical machine learning in the October 22, 2016 issue, and the Seshat history-database project in the October 15, 2016 issue.