I work as a biologist at the University of London, a place that has seen many wonderful and inspiring scientists. The labs where I did my PhD were where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the building I met my tutor in was built in honour of the Nobel Prize winner Ernst Chain, and now my faculty building is where the first anaesthetic in England was administered. However, inspirational scientists are still here, still producing work that makes us gasp.

One of the most wonderful men working in the University today is Professor Lewis Wolpert. In particular, he is especially skilled at explaining his work to the public. If you have not read any of his books, I highly recommend them all, but particularly his latest How we Live and Why We Die. It is a marvellous explanation of cell theory and how cells work.