Michel Claessens was born in 1958 in Brussels (Belgium). He has a PhD in physical chemistry and his research career covered organic physical chemistry, radiology, biotechnology and the chemical industry. He was a free-lance scientific journalist from 1980 until he joined the European Commission in 1994. Within the European Commission he is currently acting head of the Information and Communication Unit within the Research Directorate-General. As a scientific journalist and writer, Michel Claessens has published 250 articles and 4 books on several aspects of modern science and technology.