Dr Michael Gross studied chemistry at Marburg and Regensburg (Germany) and obtained his PhD from the University of Regensburg in 1993. During seven years of postdoctoral research at the Oxford Centre for Molecular Sciences, he kept writing science journalism as a night-time hobby. In May 2000, he switched to writing full time. From 2001 to 2005 he has been a science writer in residence at the School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London. He is now a regular contributor to magazines including Chemistry World, Current Biology, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, and Nachrichten aus der Chemie. He has authored several books, including Life on the Edge (Perseus), Light and Life (OUP), and The Birds, the Bees, and the Platypuses (Wiley). He can be contacted through his web page at www.michaelgross.co.uk.