James Gaines is a freelance science journalist in Seattle, Washington. He got his start at City University in London, where he received a master's degree in science journalism. Since then, his writing has appeared in outlets such as Nature, Undark, Atlas Obscura, and Knowable Magazine. He also works as a fact-checker and a regular contributor to the YouTube channel SciShow. He once had an alligator snapping turtle as a pet for about two hours.