Hayley Bennett
Hayley is a Bristol-based science writer interested in biology, chemistry, the environment and the intersection between science and the arts. She has written for The Guardian, BBC Focus, New Scientist and Mosaic, and is an author of several popular science books including Defining Moments in Science and 50 Chemistry Ideas You Really Need to Know.
FeatureHow do plants sense stress?
How does an organism without a brain or a nervous system sense when it’s under attack? Hayley Bennett presents the plant world’s strange yet sophisticated system for responding to wounding
- Opinion
Betty Wright Harris’s explosive career
Hayley Bennett tells the story of a Black chemist who studied energetic materials – and ways to detect them
- Feature
The incredible antibodies of sharks, llamas and camels
Sharks and llamas share a strange quirk of their immune systems. Hayley Bennett finds out how their ‘nanobodies’ could help us tackle Covid and a host of other diseases
- Feature
The curious case of the ancient brain
A 2000 year old decapitated Yorkshire man and the ancient proteins in his preserved brain might provide clues to modern diseases, as Hayley Bennett discovers
- Opinion
Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier the invisible assistant
Could her famous husband have played such a key role in ‘the new chemistry’ without her? Hayley Bennett investigates
- Opinion
James LuValle, a chemist who broke the colour barrier
Sports or science? There was never really any competition for a Black Olympian who made significant contributions to Kodak’s colour film, as Hayley Bennett discovers
- Feature
The rise of ferrofluids
Magnetic liquids are taking off, Hayley Bennett reports, but not as their inventor once imagined
- Opinion
Margarita Salas: the marquesa of molecular biology
Hayley Bennett celebrates the Spanish biochemist who flourished during the Franco era
- Opinion
Ghanaian biochemistry TV star Marian Addy
Marian Addy was the first female science professor in Ghana, who studied herbal medicine – and was a TV star
- Feature
Sewage sells: the hidden value of wastewater
An eye-opening visit to a waste water treatment works uncovers the surprising value in sewage. Hayley Bennett reports
- Feature
The art of the periodic table
The venerable chart of elements has inspired and entertained in its first 150 years. Hayley Bennett looks at some of its weird, wacky – and wise – incarnations
- Podcast
Omega-3 fatty acids
Many consume cod liver oil due to 'a vague sense we should be taking them for something' – but what to the omega-3 fatty acids actually do?
- Feature
Ready for a Raman shift
Raman spectroscopy has been seen as a tool for physicists and chemists but Hayley Bennett finds it has the potential to cause a major shift in the way we do medicine
- Feature
From folklore to pharmacy
Although many drugs have in the past come from plants, Hayley Bennett discovers that it’s hard work getting them approved today
- Feature
Chemistry beyond Moore's Law
Can anything replace the silicon in our mobile phones and laptops? The hunt is on, reports Hayley Bennett
- Feature
Arsenic and rice - a growing problem?
Hayley Bennett highlights rice’s natural affinity for arsenic and what researchers are doing about it
- Feature
The chemistry of the yellow jersey
Hayley Bennett tells the story of the 1948 Tour de France’s yellow jersey – and how synthetic fabrics came to dominate sportswear
- Feature
Building better bones
Can we make biodegradable materials strong enough to support the human body yet porous enough to allow real bone tissue to regenerate? Hayley Birch finds out
- Feature
Age of the phage
Hayley Birch discovers how researchers are using proteins from viruses to create new antimicrobial drugs
