"The detox fad is an example of the capacity of people to believe in and pay for magic despite the lack of any sound evidence."

Martin Wiseman of the University of Southampton, UK, on a report debunking the myth that treatments and products such as "oxygenated water" can purify your body (The Daily Telegraph, London, 3 January)

"Given the hopelessness of being able to refloat the whales, our prime concern was to avoid them suffering a long and painful death."

Greg Napp of the New Zealand Department of Conservation defends the decision to shoot 41 whales stranded on Farewell Spit, the north-western tip of South Island (New Zealand Herald, Auckland, 1 January)

"The danger rests with what we already know: that we are not all created equal."

Genome sequencing pioneer Craig Venter suggests greater understanding of how genes influence characteristics such as personality, intelligence and athletic capability could lead to ...