Letters: In Brief

Sir: Your article "Choose life, choose the family" (15 June) repeats a common misunderstanding of a recent study that showed that those species of primates in which fathers participate more in childcare have a smaller gap between the life expectancy of males and females.

What must be understood is that the study compared species and not individuals within species. The study did not look at (and so did not find) any evidence that individual males who are more involved in the raising of children have a greater life expectancy.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG

Cranfield, Bedfordshire

Sir: Sir George Martin proclaims that bands who overtly do drugs should be cast out by their record companies. The truth is that in signing a group, there is only one criterion that interests record companies: does that group make money? If they do, then almost any excess is permissible. That is a sign of a far wider and more persistent malaise than drug-taking will ever be.

MAHER M MUGHRABI

Aberdeen