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

Image showing duplicated data.

University probe leads to retraction of four neural tube studies

The University of Maryland conducted an internal investigation that identified image duplications and other data integrity issues in the studies, according to the retraction notices.

By Claudia López Lloreda
16 October 2026 | 6 min read
Illustration of five purple rectangles arranged three-dimensionally like folders on a black background with a pattern of white dots and white plus signs.

Highly cited autism paper earns expression of concern over data duplications

The notice, published in Nature last week, also addressed an image duplication identified by a prominent research-integrity sleuth.

By Madeline Shaw
16 October 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of pixellated MRI scans morphing into the scales of justice.

Govern neurodata by how it’s used, not where it’s from

New neurodata laws will shape how researchers gather, share and reuse brain data. A use-based governance protects basic researchers and those whose data are being used, without freezing science.

By José M. Muñoz
16 October 2026 | 7 min read