Semir Zeki is the world's first professor of neuroaesthetics, which means he's the first neuroaesthetics professor to receive ₤1 million to figure out how beauty excites the brain.

Have you ever wondered why, when you gaze upon a painting or house or human body, you like it? The expression "whatever turns you on" – ever thought about how? These are the questions Zeki has been tasked to answer, though perhaps in higher-minded form. He is hunting for beauty's exact location in the brain. "In a year's time," he says, "I might be able to tell you it exists for sure and it lies in the activation of these areas [as he points to his forehead]."

Of course, some may not be thrilled with Zeki's work. "Art critics might feel threatened by some of this," he explains. "They may not like the fact that I could say to you that I know that most people will respond to the beauty of the human figure when it is painted in a particular way because of the way receptors are distributed."