Tom Chivers


Tom Chivers is a London-based science writer. He grew up in Oxford, before graduating from the University of Liverpool with a first-class degree in philosophy; he then took a Master’s degree at the King’s College London Centre of Medical Law and Ethics. He worked for the Daily Telegraph for seven years from 2007 to 2014, and was a science writer at BuzzFeed UK from 2015 to 2018. He has received several awards for his journalism, including the ‘Explaining the facts’ category in the Royal Statistical Society’s Statistical Excellence in Journalism awards, and was nominated for the British Journalism Award in science writing in 2017. His first book, The Rationalists: Artificial intelligence and the geeks who want to save the world, will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in summer 2019.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Betting blind on AI and the scientific mind

If the struggle to articulate an idea is part of how you come to understand it, then tools that bypass that struggle might degrade your capacity for the kind of thinking that matters most for actual discovery.

By Tim Requarth
2 February 2026 | 11 min read
A human silhouette with lines connecting the brain to various organs.

PIEZO channels are opening the study of mechanosensation in unexpected places

The force-activated ion channels underlie the senses of touch and proprioception. Now scientists are using them as a tool to explore molecular mechanisms at work in internal organs, including the heart, bladder, uterus and kidney.

By Calli McMurray
30 January 2026 | 6 min read
US Department of Health and Human Services building.

Latest iteration of U.S. federal autism committee comes under fire

The new panel “represents a radical departure from all past rosters,” says autism researcher Helen Tager-Flusberg.

By Angie Voyles Askham
29 January 2026 | 9 min read

privacy consent banner

Privacy Preference

We use cookies to provide you with the best online experience. By clicking “Accept All,” you help us understand how our site is used and enhance its performance. You can change your choice at any time. To learn more, please visit our Privacy Policy.