Tom Ireland

A journalist interested in the power of science and the wonder of nature.

London / Herts, UK

Tom is an award-winning science writer, magazine editor and author. He edits The Biologist magazine, writes regularly for the monthly magazine BBC Science Focus, and has also written for The Guardian/Observer, New Scientist, Asimov Press and BBC News.

His first book, The Good Virus, was named ‘editors choice’ by The New York Times, was listed in both Waterstones’ and The Sunday Times’ best science books of 2023, and received the Royal Society of Literature’s Giles St Aubyn Award for first time writers.

Recent Writing

‘The only limit is our imagination’. Nobel Laureate Professor David Baker on the near-limitless potential of AI-designed proteins. The Biologist, Sept ’26.

‘Time for a Reset?’ Exploring the Government’s new push to better understand novel and rapidly-changing ecosystems. The Niche, September ’26. (Print only)

‘Mirror life is a very, very bad idea’: The strange new organisms scientists are warning each other not to build. BBC Science Focus, July ’26.

‘Profit, Planet, Partha.’ Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta on why economic models still fail to account for the degradation of the natural world. The Niche, May ’26.

Ice cold and very, very, very old: Why one Greenland shark expert believes some of these giant sharks could live for centuries longer the current estimate of 400 years. The Biologist, Dec 25.

Six-legged suffering: on the growing number of biologists who believe insects could be sentient. The Biologist, Sept ’25.

‘Born in a bag’. The latest technical advances in the decades-long efforts to develop an artificial womb – and the ethical questions such technologies raise. Asimov Press, Oct ’24.

The mystery of the empty, barrel-shaped particles in our cells known as ‘vaults’ – and the scientist who has spent his entire career trying to figure out what they do. The Biologist, May ’24.

‘Cloud labs’ and remote-control research aren’t the future – they’re here. The Guardian, Sept ’22

The Good Virus, published by Hodder & Stoughton (UK) and WW Norton (US).

“One of the best books of any genre that I’ve read this year.” – Forbes
“Luxury-class science writing” –The Telegraph
“A delight” – Nature
“A colourful redemption story for viruses” –
The New York Times

Older stuff

Is it ever ethical to use data from unethical science? Tom Ireland on how data from Nazi experiments could help save lives. BBC Science Focus, Jan ’20.

“The wave has only gotten bigger”. Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna on being at the centre of one of the biggest science stories of the decade. The Biologist, Dec ’18.

“I want to help people genetically modify themselves”. Former Nasa biochemist Josiah Zayner on why he conducted experimental, DIY gene therapy on himself. The Guardian, Dec ’17.

Why are more and more people using floatation tanks? BBC News, Feb ’16.

The Suez Superhighway: how invasive species travelling through the famous shipping lane are causing havoc in the Med. New Scientist, Feb ’15.

Inside the UK’s first medicinal cannabis research facility, exploring how different strains of the same plant can either help or harm our mental health. The Guardian, Nov ’14.