In recent years men’s attitudes to fatherhood have changed dramatically. But only now are we learning how profoundly fatherhood changes men’s brains and biology – and the effects these changes have on their health, skills, relationships and sense of purpose.

In Dad Brain, one of the world’s leading researchers of fatherhood, Darby Saxbe, provides a captivating account of this new science, packed with insights into how different approaches to fatherhood affect not only men but the whole family. Among its many revelations are that:

Fathers’ brains shrink and their testosterone drops
Fathers undergo a host of hormonal changes once thought only to affect women
Fathers can suffer post-partum depression but enjoy better long-term health
Fathers’ style of play makes their kids more resilient
Dads who do more housework are generally happier

Above all, Dad Brain shows that men are wired to participate in care just as women are, but that many of these adaptations only come online when fathers invest time into parenthood: the more they do, the more they change for the better. Ultimately it shows a good father is not something you are, it is something you become.

‘Entertaining and fascinating … a must-read’ Eve Rodsky
‘A wonderful book … from an accomplished scientist’ Antonio Damasio
‘Masterful, science-packed, offering unique and practical insights’ Daniel J. Siegel

‘Gripping?bold, humane’ Guardian

‘Sings from the page’ Rachel Clarke

For Gabriel Weston, there was always something missing from the anatomy she was taught at medical school. As she became a surgeon, a mother and then a patient herself, she grew increasingly fascinated by the gap between the body she understood as a doctor and the messy reality of living in one.

Alive is a captivating investigation into our organs and the role they play in the stories of our lives. In Weston’s hands, a fuller and more human picture of our bodies emerges – more fragile, frightening and miraculous than we could ever have imagined.

‘An exceptional, absorbing tour of human life and bodies’
Chris van Tulleken

‘Filled with fascinating facts’ Daily Telegraph

‘A pitch-perfect book’ Christie Watson

‘A book of wonder’ Sarah Moss

‘A beautifully written book about life and death: busts myths, explores the stories of science and history, and ultimately is rich and uplifting.’ Dr Adam Rutherford

With over 17,000 known diseases affecting humans, and countless poisons, carcinogens and toxins in our environment, it’s a miracle that our bodies manage to keep us alive. And that is, of course, if they don’t betray us themselves, whether through cancers or autoimmune conditions.

Biomedical researcher Professor John Tregoning tells the unlikely story of how, against all odds, we manage to stay alive. Taking an organ-by-organ tour of the human body, Tregoning embarks on his own experimental quest, testing ‘life-extending’ diets and exercise regimes to separate fact from fad. Exploring the multitude of ways our bodies can kill us, from inherited genetic conditions, through heart attacks, arrythmias and angina, onto the delicate workings of the brain, Live Forever?  offers compelling insight into how our bodies work, how we can best look after them – and ultimately live longer, healthier lives.

***

‘I heartily recommend this deep dive into wellness… It turns out that none of us are getting out of here alive, but John has bravely put his mind and body on the line to discover the secrets of staying healthy and happy as we get older. A funny, fascinating and educative book.’ Ben Willbond, co-creator of Ghosts

‘The idea that a book about death and dying could be a delightful read seems ridiculous, and yet John Tregoning has pulled off this trick with humour, flair and elegance.’ Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution

‘An enjoyable and entertaining mixture of scientific facts about ageing and completely unscientific self-experimentation… recognizing that although none of us will live forever, there are ways we can improve our chances of living well while we are still around.’ Dame Sarah Gilbert

‘Mary Roach offers a fascinating tour of the wonderful world of regenerative medicine.’  TIME, The Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2025

Our bodies regenerate at a remarkable rate – our skin replaces itself every month, our blood every four. You can remove ninety per cent of a liver and it’ll still grow back to its original size (please do not try this at home).

Others – the brain, the heart, the eyes – are more complicated. These stay with us for life. So what do we do when they break down? For centuries, medicine has searched for answers – sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs and crafting eye parts from jet canopies. And as technology has grown ever more ingenious, so have our solutions.

In Replaceable You, Mary Roach sets sail on the uncharted waters of regenerative medicine, exploring the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings:

• When and how does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb?

• Is there a sensitive way to harvest tissue and bones from the deceased?

• Which animals might be the best organ donors?

Through interviews with patients, physicians, pathologists, engineers and scientists, Roach immerses readers in the wondrous, improbable and surreal quest to build a new you.

‘Addictively readable… Don’t miss it.’ Deborah Blum, author of  The Poisoner’s Handbook

Antibiotics: one of humanity’s greatest achievements – but invented by microbes.

An epic narrative of discovery and innovation – but also of extraction and exploitation.

This is the spellbinding story of how we have burned through the fossil fuels of medicine.

Since their advent, antibiotics have saved millions of lives, marking one of the greatest medical advances in our history. Dangerous Miracle weaves together the grand arc of the evolution of antibiotics over millions of years with a history of the past century: first as we mined the earth for naturally occurring antibiotic molecules, then as we learned to synthesise our own.

But like fossil fuels, antibiotics are a finite resource which we’ve regarded as a cheap, everlasting fuel. They are unlike other drugs: every time we use them we increase the possibility of antibiotic resistance emerging, risking their future effectiveness. If we want antibiotics to have a future, we need to prepare to adapt. And fast.

Rich with pioneering characters, great breakthroughs and grave risks, Dangerous Miracle is a grand drama of science, history and politics. It is a revelatory account of the miraculous history and uncertain future of antibiotics.

‘An enjoyable, compelling and absolutely essential read’ KATE BINGHAM

‘Eye-opening and thrilling ? Both an important history and a vital call to arms to change the way new drugs are discovered’ MATTHEW COBB

‘Superbly written with excellent insights… One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read!’ Dr Rupy Aujla, author of The Doctor’s Kitchen

‘Fascinating… A thoroughly thought-provoking read’ Dame Sarah Gilbert, author of Vaxxers

You’ve heard that a healthy body means a healthy mind – but why?

Following the exciting discovery of new anatomy in the brain, Dr Monty Lyman reveals the extraordinary implications for our physical and mental health.

Could inflammation cause depression, and arthritis drugs cure it?

Can something as simple as brushing your teeth properly reduce your risk of dementia?

Until a decade ago, we misunderstood a fundamental aspect of human health. Although the brain and the body have always been viewed as separate entities – treated in separate hospitals – science now shows that they are intimately linked. Startlingly, we now know that our immune system is in constant communication with our brain and can directly alter our mental health. This has opened up a new frontier in medicine.

In The Immune Mind, Dr Monty Lyman explores the fascinating connection between the mind, immune system and microbiome, offering practical advice on how to stay healthy. A specialist in the cutting-edge field of immunopsychiatry, Lyman argues that we need to change the way we treat disease and the way we see ourselves.

For the first time, we have a new approach to medicine that treats the whole human being.

‘Exceptional, beautiful and absolutely absorbing’ CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN

‘A book of wonder’ SARAH MOSS

What does it mean to live in a body?

For Gabriel Weston, there was always something missing from the anatomy she was taught at medical school. Medicine teaches us how a body functions, but it doesn’t help us navigate the reality of living in one. As she became a surgeon, a mother, and ultimately a patient herself, Weston found herself grappling with the gap between scientific knowledge and unfathomable complexity of human experience.

In this captivating exploration of the body, Weston dissolves the boundaries that usually divide surgeon and patient, pushing beyond the limit of what science has to tell us about who we are. Focusing on our individual organs, not just under the intense spotlight of the operating theatre, but in the central role they play in the stories of our lives, a fuller and more human picture of our bodies emerges: more fragile, frightening and miraculous than we could have imagined.

Intimate, penetrating and original, Alive is an anatomy like no other, about our bodies and bonds, the richness and brevity of existence, and the thread of mortality that connect us all.

‘A beautifully written book about life and death: busts myths, explores the stories of science and history, and ultimately is rich and uplifting.’ Dr Adam Rutherford

With over 17,000 known diseases affecting humans, and countless poisons, carcinogens and toxins in our environment, it’s a miracle that our bodies manage to keep us alive. And that is, of course, if they don’t betray us themselves, whether through cancers or autoimmune conditions.

Biomedical researcher Professor John Tregoning tells the unlikely story of how, against all odds, we manage to stay alive. Taking an organ-by-organ tour of the human body, Tregoning embarks on his own experimental quest, testing ‘life-extending’ diets and exercise regimes to separate fact from fad. Exploring the multitude of ways our bodies can kill us, from inherited genetic conditions, through heart attacks, arrythmias and angina, onto the delicate workings of the brain, Live Forever?  offers compelling insight into how our bodies work, how we can best look after them – and ultimately live longer, healthier lives.

***

‘I heartily recommend this deep dive into wellness… It turns out that none of us are getting out of here alive, but John has bravely put his mind and body on the line to discover the secrets of staying healthy and happy as we get older. A funny, fascinating and educative book.’ Ben Willbond, co-creator of Ghosts

‘The idea that a book about death and dying could be a delightful read seems ridiculous, and yet John Tregoning has pulled off this trick with humour, flair and elegance.’ Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution

‘An enjoyable and entertaining mixture of scientific facts about ageing and completely unscientific self-experimentation… recognizing that although none of us will live forever, there are ways we can improve our chances of living well while we are still around.’ Dame Sarah Gilbert

‘The book that might change the world … This is luxury-class science writing’
TELEGRAPH

‘One of the best books of any genre that I’ve read in 2023, this superbly-written book … will fascinate absolutely everyone’
FORBES

‘A delight. To learn more about phages is to discover fascinating details about a hidden world’
NATURE

‘Outstanding’
CLIVE MYRIE

The viruses that do us harm are vastly outnumbered by viruses that can actually save lives. These good viruses are called ‘phages’, and they are the most abundant life form on Earth.

The Good Virus reveals how these weird and wonderful microbes shape our health, support our ecosystems and could be the future of medicine.