Philip Ball
Philip Ball is a freelance science writer.
He worked previously at Nature for over 20 years, first as an editor for physical sciences and then as a Consultant Editor. His writings on science for the popular press have covered topical issues ranging from cosmology to the future of molecular biology.
Philip is the author of many popular books on science and has delivered lectures to scientific and general audiences at venues ranging from the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) to the NASA Ames Research Center, London's National Theatre and the London School of Economics.
Philip writes regularly for Nature. He has contributed to publications ranging from New Scientist to the New York Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and New Statesman. He is a contributing editor of Prospect magazine and also a columnist for Nature Materials and the Italian science magazine Sapere. He has broadcast on many occasions on radio and TV, and is a presenter of 'Science Stories' on BBC Radio 4. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, sits on the editorial board of Chemistry World and Interdiscipinary Science Reviews, and is a board member of the RESOLV network on solvation science at the Ruhr University of Bochum.
FeatureQuantum chemistry on quantum computers
The special properties of quantum computers should make them ideal for accurately modelling chemical systems, Philip Ball discovers
OpinionDid life emerge from hell on Earth?
Why our origins may lie in the Hadean era, 4 billion years ago
ResearchDNA helix has chiral water ‘spine’
Spectroscopy reveals how water molecules form a chiral superstructure in DNA’s minor groove
ResearchSeaborg's americium dispute put to bed 60 years later
Hotly debated historical brouhaha that centred on the element’s covalency may have been solved
ResearchDye detective work uncovers Perkin’s chemistry secrets
The pioneering Victorian chemist didn’t reveal all in his patent on the first synthetic purple dye
OpinionScience communication in the post-truth era
Do popular science articles make the public overconfident about their own expertise?
ResearchExotic antimatter used to probe molecule's reactivity
Muonium spectroscopy can reveal photochemical reactivity and dynamics of specific carbons within an organic molecule
FeatureShedding light on the dark proteome
Around half of all human proteins are a mystery. What do they look like, asks Phil Ball
OpinionPolymer amphiphiles could help reveal the origins of life
Spontaneous shapes and reactions to light may explain how protocells form
ResearchControversial metallic hydrogen claim under new scrutiny
Three high pressure groups pile on criticism as original ‘metallic hydrogen’ sample lost during catastrophic equipment failure
ResearchNew buzz around vibrational smell theory
Controversial theory bolstered by discovery that ordinary and deuterated odour compounds elicit different responses in honeybee brains
ResearchBonding accurately predicted in diatomics by new scheme
Hopes that simple theoretical framework can be extended to tackle polyatomic molecules
ResearchQuantum computer simulates hydrogen molecule
Prototype shows potential for more complex electronic structure calculations
OpinionWhat's the point of synthesising the human genome?
A plan to build our genome from scratch should be challenged on its scientific merit, not whether it is creating life, argues Philip Ball
