Sir

Although we acknowledge the need to allow publication of diverse opinions in the name of free speech, Nature has a responsibility, as a leading and widely read science journal, to uphold scientific standards and values. Unfortunately, in Maciej Giertych's Correspondence letter (“Creationism, evolution: nothing has been proved” Nature 444, 265; 2006), Nature fell short in this duty, allowing creationist pseudoscientific arguments to be presented as fact, without any supporting evidence.

The arguments used by Giertych are widely used by creationists, and, in their pseudoscientific tradition, evidence that discredits them is constantly ignored. For example, his suggestion that dinosaurs coexisted with humans, presumably based on supposed human footprints found alongside those of dinosaurs in the Glen Rose Formation of Texas (as expounded by Henry M. Morris in Scientific Creationism CLP Publishers, 1974) has been refuted: the 'human' footprints are now recognized as dinosaurian (R. Hastings J. Geol. Educ. 35, 4–15; 1987). A comprehensive source that scientifically discredits such 'evidence' can be found at http://scienceblogs.com.

We worry that Giertych's Correspondence will lend credibility to pseudoscientific efforts to undermine evolutionary theory. Its publication is damaging to Nature's reputation and to science itself. We as scientists may be able to see whether a claim is scientifically thorough, but many other people cannot. We urge the editors to insist on the same scientific rigour in Correspondence as in any other section of Nature.