Ben Spencer
The Sunday Times
Ben Spencer thrives on complexity. His strength as a science journalist is grounded in his ability to explain complicated issues without dumbing them down, using human stories to take the reader with him. There are few more complicated subjects than quantum computing. But in this feature for the Sunday Times Magazine he set out to attempt to do what no science journalist had successfully done before and write the first accessible, truly understandable long-form feature explaining how quantum computing works. This timely piece - published as the UK set out to lead the global drive for quantum supremacy - explores the personalities, economics and potential of this revolutionary field. Readers responded enthusiastically, reading the digital version of the piece for an average of more than twice as long as the average Sunday Times Magazine feature.
September 1, 2024 - Ukraine veteran’s amputation illustrates how antibiotics are losing the war
For years we have been warned of the future threat of antibiotic resistance. In this powerful story, Spencer used the case of a soldier injured in Ukraine to demonstrate that the threat is no longer one of the future. He learned through his NHS contacts that surgeons had been forced to amputate the soldier’s leg because nine different antibiotics failed to treat his infections. In a front-page story and a longer in-depth piece in the inside pages, Spencer explained the science of antibiotic resistance and examined the consequences of the global failure to tackle overuse of the drugs. He also revealed that even in Britain - where the fight against antibiotic resistance has been spearheaded - antibiotic use is again on the rise.
March 10, 2024 - ‘The West is complacent’: inside the world’s biggest vaccine factory
At the height of the Covid pandemic, with the world scrambling for vaccines, the Serum Institute of India stepped in. The world’s biggest vaccine factory started making the Oxford coronavirus jab in bulk, producing two billion doses, including tens of millions for the UK. Now the Serum Institute is at the forefront of another vaccine revolution, producing the first affordable immunisation against malaria, again in collaboration with Oxford. In March, just before the first malaria vaccines were shipped out, Spencer visited the Serum factory in Pune, south India, where he saw vials being filled and packed. He visited a local hospital, to talk to patients and doctors about their attitudes towards vaccination, and interviewed scientists and the chief executive of the Serum Institute about vaccine complacency in the West and the prospect of eradicating malaria altogether.