May I add a comment in support of Sir David Weatherall's review of James Le Fanu's Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine ("Pasteur is good, but don't forget pastor too", THES, October 8)?
In 25 industrialised countries average life expectancy at birth has risen since 1960 by 8.4 years for women and 7.0 years for men. It continues to rise, largely as a result of modern medicine.
M. F. Perutz Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge