Jo Marchant on science writing: 'You need a burning curiosity'
Today we speak to Jo Marchant, a former editor for Nature and
New Scientist, and author of Decoding the Heavens DNA strands on
abstract background 'I happen to have a PhD in genetics but that
technical knowledge doesn't help me when writing about
archaeology or physics.' Photograph: Rex Features  What makes a
good science story? There are three components to the perfect
science story. The first is the intellectual leap or excitement
that a particular piece of research brings. Second, the
practical implications – how will this research change our
lives? The third is the human story – for example a race between
two feuding teams, a reclusive mathematician who makes a
breakthrough (or doesn't) after working for years in his attic,
or a baby saved by a new transplant technique.  You can get away
with just one or two of these components if they're strong
enough, but if a story scores highly on all three, you're on to
something big.  What do you need t