Philip Ball is a freelance science writer and a Consultant Editor for Nature. He worked as an editor for physical sciences at Nature for over ten years, where his brief extended from biochemistry to quantum physics and materials science. His writings on science for the popular press have covered topical issues ranging from cosmology to the future of molecular biology. Ball is the author of several popular books on science, including works on the nature of water, pattern formation in the natural world, colour in art, and the science of social and political philosophy. He has written widely on the interactions between art and science, and has delivered lectures to scientific and general audiences at venues ranging from the V&A Museum to the NASA Ames Research Center. He writes regularly for News@Nature, in particular for the editorial column muse@nature. He has contributed to various international publications and regularly broadcasts on radio and TV. He is also Science Writer in Residence at the Department of Chemistry, UCL. Philip has a BA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Physics from the University of Bristol. Part of the 'Embodied Patterns' Lecture Series.