Archive - Scientific Discovery

Hard Drugs, my new podcast with Jacob Trefethen, and the story of a drug that could end AIDS.

How to speed up medical innovation, how to scale it up, and how to make sure lifesaving tools reach the people who need them the most.

Jun 11 •

May 2025

What's new in biology

Return of the screwworm, new DNA vaccines, gene editing at scale, and more

Published on The Works in Progress Newsletter • May 2

April 2025

The decline in cancer mortality is about much more than smoking

I respond to the claim that the decline in cancer mortality is mostly, or almost entirely, just because of the decline in smoking.

Apr 24 •

We don't have to sit back and just watch the horror unfold

This month, I signed a pledge to donate at least 10% of my lifetime income to effective charities.

Apr 11 •

December 2024

Five medical breakthroughs in 2024

It's December, and time for a retrospective on some breakthroughs in medical innovation this year.

Dec 9, 2024 •

April 2024

Four charts to understand causes of death across the lifespan: A dataviz walkthrough

The key question I ask myself while making data visualization: What question am I trying to answer?

Apr 20, 2024 •

March 2024

#20: Many great things you missed this year

This week: Birth seasonality, causes of death across the lifespan, progress against HIV/AIDS & cystic fibrosis, very rare infectious form of…

Mar 16, 2024 •

January 2024

#19: Seven things you didn't know about life expectancy

Life expectancy is being pushed higher. What does this mean, and what does it tell us about the future?

Jan 2, 2024 •

December 2023

Why we didn't get a malaria vaccine sooner (audio recording)

Hundreds of thousands of people die from malaria each year, but it took 141 years to develop a vaccine for it.

Dec 20, 2023 •

1:06:03

November 2023

#18: A slice of great things you missed this year

This post: A brain cancer breakthrough, defeating dengue, women's employment, rabies elimination, personality and age, giant virus-like particles, and…

Nov 3, 2023 •

September 2023

#17: Why we didn't get a malaria vaccine sooner (bonus content)

This week: How to write a 9,000+ word article, fact-checking and history heuristics, and the path to scientific discovery.

Sep 10, 2023 •

July 2023

#16: A fraction of great things you missed this year

This week: Death contours, the twin baby boom, good conversations, music and languages, blood pressure drugs, conspiracy theories, Tasmanian devil…

Jul 9, 2023 •

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