Archive - Scientific Discovery

#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 •

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 •

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. Advance market commitments could speed…

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 •

June 2023

#15: What does it mean when fewer people die?

This week: Different angles of the decline in mortality, clean water, easy ways to save lives, and more.

Jun 1, 2023 •

April 2023

#14: How many people die from snakebites?

This week: Missing data – the most underrated problem in global health.

Apr 11, 2023 •

March 2023

#13: The success of chickenpox vaccines

This week: Why not treat chickenpox and shingles as an avoidable problem? Plus, I have a PhD now.

Mar 20, 2023 •

January 2023

#12: Everything great you missed since November, part one

This week: Declines in cancer, the significance of hospitals, climate & religion, bird maps, gender pay gaps, intelligence & personality, the pyramids…

Jan 24, 2023 •

November 2022

#11: Everything great I've read in the last fortnight

This week: The curve of death, eliminating HIV, the impact of cash donations, lemurs picking their nose, the spread of dumplings, trade, and some cool…

Nov 6, 2022 •

October 2022

#10: Everything great I've read in the past month

This week: A stream of new vaccines, deaths over the 20th century, how flu became milder, how children reduce crime, how to reduce stomach cancer, and…

Oct 22, 2022 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts