Their work is changing the world we live in, but what do we really know about their lives beyond the lab? Based on interviews for the hit BBC Radio 4 series, The Life Scientific: Detectives reveals the life and work of some of the foremost scientists in the world, from Nobel laureates to the next generation of beautiful minds. Getting under their skin and into their minds, we find out what first inspired them and what motivates them to keep going.

The detectives featured in this volume include: Sadaf Farooqi on what makes us fat; Nick Lane on the origin of life on earth; Sue Black on what you can learn from dead bodies; Tejinder Virdee on the search for the Higgs Boson; and Amoret Whitaker on how insects can help solve crimes.