Jo’s articles have appeared in publications including Nature, New Scientist, the Observer, the New York Times, Matter, Mosaic, Wired UK and the Washington Post. She is a regular contributor to Smithsonian magazine.
Selected articles:
- How AI is unlocking ancient texts
From burnt scrolls to crumbling tablets, neural networks could help rewrite history
Nature, December 2024 - A buried ancient Egyptian port yields Indian treasures
In the desert sands of Berenike, wondrous finds are challenging ideas about the makings of the modern world
Smithsonian, July/August 2024 - First passages of 2000-year-old Herculaneum scroll revealed
Researchers used artificial intelligence to unveil musings on music and capers
Nature, February 2024 - Document detectives use proteins to investigate the past
Smudges and bloodstains left on historic artifacts are revealing centuries-old secrets
Smithsonian, November/December 2022 - How Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s golden tomb
A hundred years on, the definitive story of the dig that changed the world
Nature, November 2022 - Digital Egypt
How CT scans, 3D printers and virtual reality are bringing the pharaohs to life
New Scientist, November 2022 - First known map of night sky found hidden in Medieval parchment
Fabled star catalogue by ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus was feared lost
Nature, October 2022 - Treasures of Gribshunden
A 500-year-old royal shipwreck is rewriting the history of the Age of Discovery
Smithsonian, November 2021 - Inside the tombs of Saqqara
Dramatic new discoveries in the ancient Egyptian burial ground
Smithsonian, July 2021 - The truth about mindfulness
Mindfulness is claimed as a powerful therapy, but does the evidence stack up?
New Scientist, June 2021 - The ultimate destination
How do our minds relate to the cosmos?
The Psychologist, September 2020 - Obsession and desire in an ancient Assyrian library
Jo Marchant on the discovery of a true treasure
Literary Hub, September 2020 - The oysters that knew what time it was
Wired, September 2020 - The moon really may have strange effects on our health
New Scientist, September 2020 - Life on Mars: The story of meteorite ALH84001
BBC Science Focus, September 2020 - An ancient site with human skulls on display
Where our ancestors began to elevate themselves above nature
Nautilus, September 2020 - Powerful antibiotics discovered using AI
Machine learning spots molecules that work against even ‘untreatable’ strains
Nature, 20 February 2020
- Is this Nefertiti’s tomb?
Radar clues reignite debate over hidden chambers
Nature, 19 February 2020 - When antibiotics turn toxic
Commonly prescribed drugs called fluoroquinolones cause rare, disabling side effects. Researchers are struggling to work out why
Nature, 21 March 2018 - Secrets of St Catherine’s monastery
Long-lost texts from the world’s oldest library are reshaping our view of the connections between East and West
Smithsonian magazine, 11 December 2017 - Acupuncture in cancer study reignites debate about controversial technique
Nature, 11 December 2017 - Language patterns reveal the body’s hidden response to stress
Nature, 6 November 2017 - Cosmic-ray particles reveal secret chamber in Egypt’s Great Pyramid
Nature, 2 November 2017 - Antikythera shipwreck yields statue pieces and mystery bronze disc
Nature, 4 October 2017 - Awesome awe: the emotion that gives us superpowers
New Scientist, 26 July 2017 - Virtually painless – how VR is making surgery simpler
Jo Marchant travels to a Mexican mountaintop village to visit a clinic with a difference
Mosaic, January 2017 - The golden warrior: A 3,500-year-old Greek tomb exposes the roots of Western civilisation
Smithsonian magazine, January 2017
- Human skeleton found on famed Antikythera shipwreck
Nature, 19 September 2016 - Honest fakery: how inactive substances can mitigate chronic pain
Nature, 14 July 2016 - An interview with… Timothy Jorgensen on radiation
Five Books, July 2016 - An interview with… Sean B. Carroll on biology
Five Books, May 2016 - An interview with… Gaia Vince on the anthropocene
Five Books, March 2016 - An interview with… Tim Radford on science writing
Five Books, February 2016 - How to train your immune system
Mosaic, 9 February 2016 - A placebo treatment for pain
New York Times, 9 January 2016 - A journey to the oldest cave paintings in the world
The discovery in a remote part of Indonesia has scholars rethinking the origins of art — and of humanity
Smithsonian magazine, January 2016 - An interview with… Matthew Cobb on history of science
Five Books, December 2015 - An interview with… Andrew Robinson on Einstein
Five Books, November 2015 - Consider all the evidence on alternative therapies
Nature, 14 October 2015 - Strong placebo response thwarts painkillers trials
Nature, 6 October 2015 - Beyond the Antikythera mechanism
A new exhibition of 2000-year-old artefacts from the Antikythera shipwreck includes some breathtakingly pristine treasures
Nature arts blog September 2015 - An interview with… Paul Falkowski on microbes
Without them, plants and animals wouldn’t exist and even the Earth’s geology would be different. Paul Falkowski recommends five books on microbes
Five Books, September 2015 - Archimedes’ legendary sphere brought to life
Recreation of a 2000-year-old model of the Universe to appear in exhibition
Nature news September 2015 - Divers return to famous Antikythera wreck to hunt for treasures
Gemma Smith is grinning like a child on Christmas morning. ‘It could be anything!’ she says, as our boat speeds past the rugged grey cliffs of Antikythera…
New Scientist September 2015 - Exploring the Titanic of the ancient world
Scientists search the wine-dark sea for the remains of a ship that sank 2,000 years ago – carrying what is believed to be the world’s first computer
Smithsonian magazine February 2015
- Can meditation really slow aging?
Is there real science in the spirituality of meditation? Jo Marchant meets a Nobel Prize-winner who thinks so
Mosaic July 2014 - The pursuit of happiness
Researchers have struggled to identify how certain states of mind influence physical health. One biologist thinks he has an answer
Nature November 2013 - In the Name of the King
Why everyone from the Mormons to the Muslim Brotherhood wants a piece of Tutankhamun’s DNA.
Matter July 2013 - Return to Antikythera
Divers revisiting a wreck in Greece where an ancient computer was found have discovered an array of artefacts
Guardian science blog 18 March 2013 - ‘You need a burning curiosity’
Jo Marchant on science writing
Guardian science blog 13 March 2013 - Mummies reveal that clogged arteries plagued the ancient world
Scans suggest there’s more to heart disease than a modern diet
Nature news 11 March 2013 - Hunt for the ancient mariner
Armed with high-tech methods, researchers are scouring the Aegean Sea for the world’s oldest shipwrecks
Nature 25 January 2012 - Evolution machine: Genetic engineering on fast-forward
New Scientist 27 June 2011 - Heal Thyself
The power of mind over matter
New Scientist 29 August 2011 - How to write about science
Decoding the Heavens blog 6 July 2011 - Not just any old iron
Writing about science with clarity and precision doesn’t preclude creativity, passion – and even poetry
Guardian science blog 28 April 2011 - Curse of the Pharaoh’s DNA
Some researchers claim to have analysed DNA from Egyptian mummies. Others say that’s impossible
Nature 27 April 2011 - How meditation might ward off the effects of aging
The Observer 24 April 2011 - Pharaonic forensics
What killed Tutankhamun?
New Scientist 19 January 2011 - Mechanical inspiration
Did the Greeks’ vision of a geometrical universe come from the internal gearing of an ancient mechanism?
Nature 24 November 2010 - Fossil secrets of the da Vinci codex
Did Leonardo decipher traces of ancient life centuries before Darwin?
New Scientist 29 September 2010 - Do Egyptian mummies have a right to privacy?
Some ethicists argue that ancient corpses are not fair game for science
New Scientist 10 September 2010 - How to survive the long haul in space
Medical records of space station astronauts suggest how to stay healthy on the way to Mars
New Scientist 28 August 2010 - The secrets of Tutankhamun
Howard Carter spent years documenting the thousands of artefacts from Tut’s tomb. Now, this remarkable archive can be viewed online
The Observer 18 July 2010 - Drowned cities: myths and secrets of the deep
Jo Marchant discovers what’s really out there beneath the waves
New Scientist 25 November 2009 - Virtual fossils reveal how ancient creatures lived
Spectacular insights are emerging as palaeontologists swap their chisels for X-rays and high-speed computers
New Scientist 27 May 2009 - Archimedes and the 2000-year-old computer
New Scientist 12 December 2008 - Chasing sea monsters
A 13-metre whale shark caught in 1912 wowed a generation
New Scientist 3 September 2008 - The language detective
Interview with linguist Steven Pinker
New Scientist 2 July 2008 - Fighting the dark side of the web
Interview with internet critic Lee Siegel
New Scientist 25 June 2008 - Leap of faith
Does a controversial Renaissance masterpiece contain a hidden code?
Nature 29 March 2007 - In search of lost time
Decoding the secrets of an ancient clockwork computer
Nature 30 November 2006