Section:GDN 1J PaGe:6 Edition Date:190907 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 6/9/2019 17:04 cYanmaGentaYellowblac
- The Guardian Saturday 7 September 2019
6 Letters
It is not a new fi nding that variation
in complex traits such as human
sexual behaviour is caused jointly
by eff ects of environmental
factors and many genetic variants
with small eff ects, distributed
across the genome ( Editorial , 31
August). This principle has been
understood for many such traits
for more than 100 years. Work
using modern genomic methods
in organisms from fruit fl ies to
humans strongly confi rms it. To
say that a trait has a genetic cause
does not imply that non-genetic
factors are unimportant, nor that it
is controlled by just a single gene.
There is no simple dichotomy
between genetic and environmental
control of a trait, and understanding
this has eff ectively ended the long-
running “nature-nurture” debate
about human intelligence.
The editorial suggests that theIs Boris Johnson fi t to be
PM? Here’s the evidence
Complex science surrounding
genetics and homosexuality
Your report on electric bin lorries
powered by energy from household
waste ( 5 September ) that are being
trialled by Sheffi eld and Westminster
councils suggests that this may be a
world fi rst for local authorities.
This may well be the case in the
21st century, but Sheffi eld also
claimed to be the fi rst to do this back
in 1915. Electric refuse collection
vehicles were not uncommon in the
early decades of the 20th century,
and one manufacturer claimed to
have 50 local authority customers
for its vehicles.
In the mid-1920s, 7% of London
refuse vehicles were electric, when
ones with petrol engines made up
only 11% of the total (80% were still
horse-drawn).
Modern energy-from- waste plants
now provide electricity generated
from household refuse, but this
approach had also been pioneered
more than a century ago withOld technology can
solve a modern crisis
Brexit is
served
‘I spotted this
menu on the
window of a cafe
while visiting
Deptford recently
and it seemed to
sum things up.
Farewell crushed
avocado on
sourdough ’
ROBERT CLARKE/
GUARDIAN COMMUNITY
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these pages- Further to Martin Belam’s excellent
article ( Five lessons Boris Johnson
could learn from Emperor Augustus ,
theguardian.com, 5 September), a
comparison with the Roman dictator
Sulla may be more apt. When he
returned from exile and seized power
in 82BC, Sulla ruthlessly purged
his enemies in a manner similar to
Mr Johnson’s cabinet reshuffl e and
expulsion of 21 moderates from
his party. Although Sulla operated
within constitutional norms, and his
dictatorship was mercifully brief, his
abuse of power set a precedent that
led directly to the rise of Julius Caesar
and the overthrow of the free Roman
republic. We all hope that Britain is
not set in a similar direction today.
Dr Martin Brady
Lecturer/assistant professor in
classics, University College Dublin - While Boris Johnson is criticised
for using police offi cers for political
purposes ( Police chief says force was
not told about Boris Johnson speech
plan , theguardian.com, 6 September),
it’s instructive to look at how they
were used. Referring to the latest
withdrawal bill, Mr Johnson told the
cadets, and the world, that “the bill
that was passed yesterday ... [means
that] Brussels, the EU, would decide
how long the UK was going to remain
in the EU”. This fi ts with the narrative
that the UK is “surrendering” to
Europe. But it is also untrue. Section 3
(3) of the bill allows parliament to vote
on, and reject, any extension beyond
31 January that the EU may propose.
Tabitha Troughton
Rodborough, Gloucestershire- Your editorial shows why choice
of language is so important when
reporting on science that may have
social and political consequences.
The claim that “The latest eff ort
has been to see if there is a genetic
cause for homosexuality and the
result is clear. There isn’t ” implies
a bias that no serious geneticist
would accept. Indeed, it is unlikely
that they would ever use the word
“cause” at all. Genes have varying
degrees of infl uence on outcomes
and scientists are interested to know
how strong those infl uences are.
Most are small and multifactorial,
as you say. But your choice of words
plays straight into the hands of those
who would claim that being LBGTQ+
is a “lifestyle choice” and even that
it can be “cured”. To suggest that it
is “profoundly aff ected by outside
circumstances” suggests that
environmental factors are a bigger
“cause” than someone’s inherent
nature. I would have hoped for a
more considered refl ection on what
the science is really saying.
Richard Gilyead
Saff ron Walden, Essex
- Your editorial shows why choice
After a leadership campaign where
he was kept away from scrutiny by
the public, press and parliament
and a honeymoon period during
which his press offi ce worked
overtime distributing an array of
unsustainable pledges, the past few
days have revealed an undeniable
truth ( A Brexit extension? I’d rather
be dead in a ditch, says Johnson ,
6 September). The known and
obvious fl aws in Boris Johnson’s
suitability for the post of prime
minister, extensively catalogued
in this paper through the summer
months, are now available for all to
see. The scorecard is remarkable:
21 expulsions, one defection, three
votes lost, too many resignations
to keep an accurate record, and
a series of tantrums and insults.
Equally alarmingly, the continuing
inappropriate language of
“surrender”, “white fl ag” and “ I’d
rather be dead in a ditch” – while
referring to European leaders as
“friends” – suggests he has lost
touch with objective reality.
Les Bright
Exeter, Devonadvantage to a gene “will shift
as a result of the shift in a gene’s
frequency”. This concept was
introduced by R A Fisher in 1930
(well before game theory was
invented), but operates only in
very specifi c situations. Studies
of genetic variability suggest that
very few of the several million
DNA sequence variants present in
human populations are maintained
by such “balancing” selective
processes. It is possible that some of
these contribute to variation in this
particular human behaviour, but
testing this possibility would require
major further research. The vast
majority of DNA sequence variants
are very infrequent , and most either
do not aff ect, or slightly reduce,
survival or reproductive success.
Brian Charlesworth and
Deborah Charlesworth
University of Edinburgh- Boris Johnson’s clumsy attempts
to quote the police caution to trainee
offi cers at Wakefi eld should be taken
down and used in evidence that this
man should be allowed nowhere
near any positions of responsibility.
Neil Thomas
Colchester - “Johnson is a very British populist,”
writes Simon Jenkins ( Journal , 6
September). No – he is a very English
populist. We Scots are too sensible
to be taken in by the posh former
public school boy performance and
undeserved sense of entitlement
that Boris Johnson displays. This
Tory Brexit crisis is all about English
nationalism, as Dr Phillip Lee so
aptly said in his remarks on his
defection to the Liberal Democrats.
Ian Arnott
Peterborough - The prime minister says he will
deliver Brexit “do or die”, and now
says he would rather “be dead in a
ditch” than be forced to request an
Brexit extension. These recurring
thoughts about death are not a
healthy sign. Perhaps he should
seek medical help.
Paul Collins
Sale, Cheshire - It must be tough fi nding out that
“king of the world” and “prime
minister” are not the same thing.
Carolyn Steff e
Inkpen, Berkshire - Could the Guardian please stop
referring to the Tory MPs who voted
against Boris Johnson this week,
and subsequently had the Tory
whip removed, as “rebels”. They
are principled MPs upholding the
values of one-nation Conservatism.
“The 21” perhaps?
Lin Wilkinson
Newbury, Berkshire
the so-called “dust destructors”
that were installed in a number of
London boroughs, as well as many
provincial authorities.
Recycling isn’t new either – there’s
nothing new in the world of rubbish.
Dr Peter Hounsell
Greenford, London- In the early 20th century a number
of British councils burned rubbish
to generate electricity, in facilities
quaintly called “refuse destructors”.
Some of the electricity produced
went to power council-owned
trams and some was typically used
to charge up the fl eets of electric
dustcarts that fed the destructors.
In some places the practi ce
continued after the second world
war: Birmingham ran a considerable
fl eet of electric dustcarts into the
1950s. At least one of these survives
in the collections of Birmingham
museum.
I wonder what other forgotten
technologies could also help with
the climate emergency?
Richard Ellam
Paulton, Somerset
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letters-termsThis Tory Brexit crisis
is all about English
nationalism, as Phillip
Lee said on his defection
to the Liberal DemocratsIan ArnottRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws