Jo Marchant is a science journalist with a PhD in genetics. She has worked as an editor at New Scientist and at Nature and has written on topics from the future of genetic engineering to underwater archaeology. She is author of Decoding the Heavens: Solving the mystery of the world’s first computer (2009) and The Shadow King: The bizarre afterlife of King Tut’s mummy (2013), which was described by Literary Review as “a thrilling account [that] shows our human failings, most notably greed and pride”. Her third book, Cure: A journey into the science of mind over body, is published by Canongate.
Can virtual reality really soothe pain? Jo Marchant meets the doctors who say yes, and who hope this is a solution for the country consuming 80 per cent of the world’s opioid supply: the United States of America.
Surgeons and their patients are finding that virtual reality can relieve the pain and stress of operations – and it’s safer and cheaper than sedatives. Jo Marchant travels to a Mexican mountaintop village to visit a clinic with a difference.
Jo Marchant asks if we can harness the mind to reduce side-effects and slash drug costs.
Is there real science in the spiritualism of meditation? Jo Marchant meets a Nobel Prize-winner who thinks so.
