Jo Marchant

Jo Marchant is a freelance journalist specializing in science and history. After gaining a BSc in genetics from Leicester University[1] and a PhD in microbiology[2] she became a science writer, and is the author of Decoding the Heavens,[3] an exploration of the history and significance of the Antikythera mechanism, The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy and Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body[4][5](shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016).[6] A former editor of the science journal Nature and opinion editor at New Scientist magazine in London, she has written for The Guardian and The Economist.[2]

Marchant writes that "the idea for Decoding the Heavens came about in November 2006, when I was an editor at the science journal Nature. A research paper was due to be published revealing the workings of a sophisticated ancient device called the Antikythera mechanism. The story grabbed me immediately, and I was desperate to find out more about this mysterious contraption. I travelled to Athens to see the remains of the mechanism, and to meet those who have studied it and hear their stories."[7]