Flora seeks fans

Ken Bowler's article on the plight of zoology (Opinion, March 16) comes as no surprise to those of us in the plant science community. Bowler correctly surmises that the decline in interest in "whole organism biology", both animal and plant, must be due to the A-level syllabus.

If this trend is not reversed, we will find few graduates with an understanding of whole-organism anatomy and physiology. And without those with whole-organism interests taking teaching positions within schools, we will never generate university entrants with such interests.

Tony Stead
Royal Holloway, University of London