Jo Marchant is a freelance journalist specializing in science and history. After gaining a BSc in genetics and a PhD in microbiology she became a science writer, and is the author of Decoding the Heavens

Decoding the Heavens

Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-old Computer and the Century Long Search to Discover Its Secrets by Jo Marchant is an exploration of the history and significance of the Antikythera Mechanism, , an ancient mechanical calculator designed to calculate astronomical positions...

, an exploration of the history and significance of the Antikythera mechanism

Antikythera mechanism

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900–1901 from the Antikythera wreck. Its significance and complexity were not understood until decades later. Its time of construction is now estimated between 150 and 100...

. A former editor of the science journal Nature

Nature (journal)

Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...

and opinion editor at New Scientist

New Scientist

New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...

magazine in London, she has written for The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

and The Economist

The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

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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."