Matthew Cobb

I am a scientist and writer living in Manchester, UK, with my companion and our two daughters (11 and 8). I spent most of my adult life living in Paris, where I worked as a scientist and spent a great deal of time active in far-left politics. My day-job is studying the sense of smell in fruitfly maggots (this isn't as daft as it sounds), and being in charge of Manchester University's Zoology degree. I also study the history of science, and recently published a book ("Generation" in the US, "The Egg & Sperm Race" in the UK and Commonwealth). I also write regularly on science and historical issues for the LA Times and the Times Literary Supplement. I also write popular summaries of scientific research for the Journal of Experimental Biology. Probably the best description of my academic outlook is that I'm an evolutionary neurobiologist—I study how evolution has shaped the sensory systems and behavior of animals through genes and neuronal networks.